Senator Lopez Sheds Light on Repub Distortions

Today's Albuquerque Journal contains a guest column by Senator Linda Lopez  that provides a compelling rebuttal to Republican Party Chair Allen Weh's recent distorted letter to the editor on the election reform bill that passed the NM Legislature this year.

Senator Lopez, you nailed it! Click to the continuation page to read her commentary.

Bipartisan Effort Led to N.M. Election Reform
By Sen. Linda M. Lopez
Albuquerque Democrat

New Mexico Republican Party Chairman Allen Weh's commentary regarding the new election reform law is a mixture of misstatements and inaccuracies that would be amusing if not for the disservice he is perpetuating on the public.

Weh's statement about the need to "focus the light of truth" is the epitome of hypocrisy in a letter rife with duplicity. Perhaps, as the prime sponsor of the election reform bill, I can focus this light of truth that seems to have eluded the chairman of the state's Republican Party.

During the last legislative session the Senate Rules Committee, which I chair, began hearings on the need for election reform. From these hearings we learned that voter fraud and election law violations are almost nonexistent. But, we did find instances where the election process did not meet the high expectations of our citizens.

While holding our hearings in the Senate, we monitored the proceedings in the House, where a much larger number of election bills, including the governor's, had been introduced and were eating up precious committee time. Shortly after the midpoint of the legislative session I thought it wise for the Senate to have its own election reform bill ready in case there was no movement on the House side.

Based on the testimony we had received during Senate committee hearings on several election related bills, and in consultation with committee members, I introduced the Senate Rules Committee Substitute for Senate Bills 678, 680, 718 and 735.

Weh now makes the outrageous claim that the bill was written by political operatives from the Governor's Office. Nothing could be further from the truth.

After all the hearings had taken place, the language in the committee substitute was hammered out in several arduous sessions between myself, Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, who was the prime sponsor of several election measures included in Senate Bill 718, and our legislative staff.

All the proposed legislation was on the table and we selected what we considered the most innovative and best common sense remedies that had been put forth by the secretary of state, the governor, the attorney general, nonpartisan citizen election reform groups, and Democratic and Republican legislators.

\The result was a well thought out bill containing meaningful voter identification provisions; a chain of custody for certificates of registration and absentee ballot applications; standardized training, policies and procedures for county clerks; requirements that voting systems have voter-verifiable and auditable paper trails; regulation of voter registration groups; expedited absentee voter ballot counting; voter registration cards mailed to every voter prior to a statewide election; updated absentee voter procedures; and, a uniform process and set of criteria for the counting of provisional, absentee and other paper ballots.

Subsequently, after several lengthy hearings, the committee substitute was passed to the House. There it received a long hearing in the House Voters and Election Committee, and an even longer hearing on the House floor, before being passed and sent to the governor for his signature.

Weh, in his commentary, further asserts that a political emissary of the governor emerged with a substitute bill on day 58 of the 60-day session. His statement is not only a complete fabrication, but also a slap in the face of all of the individuals who spent considerable time and energy pushing real election reform forward in New Mexico.

Lastly, Weh and some Republicans continue to criticize the voter identification provisions of the election reform bill.

In developing the identification requirements we were mindful of days past when poll taxes, property ownership requirements, gender, literacy tests and ballot box placement were used to subvert and harm the very foundation upon which our government is built.

The voter identification provisions in the election reform bill are designed to provide elections that are fair and honest, while not discouraging our citizens from exercising their fundamental right regardless of age, ethnicity, income level or any other demographic consideration.

I think everyone would agree, when everything is said and done, we do hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal with certain unalienable rights, and selecting the people who will run our government may be the most important right guaranteed to all of us.