Democracy for New Mexico

NM Caucus: 15,100 Provisional Ballots Checked

If you'd like to volunteer to help with provisional ballot qualifying at REDW in Albuquerque or donate some snacks or beverages for the volunteers, click for more info. They need all the help they can get to finalize the process before the Party's February 15th deadline for certification.

Yesterday afternoon, the Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico Brian S. Colón announced that the Party made further progress with the qualification of provisional ballots. The qualification process works to assure that voters are registered and have not already cast a ballot.

“We’ve made significant progress qualifying provisional ballots,” said Chairman Colón. “Our volunteers have checked more than 15,100 provisional ballots and identified 5,466 registered Democrats—so far. At the same time, we are conducting a second search to a more extensive database to make sure that we count those provisional voters who are registered and have not already cast a ballot.”

Since the day after the caucus, over one hundred volunteers have donated over 281 shifts to help the process of verifying and counting the votes of the record Democratic turnout on February 5th.

“We remain committed to providing accurate results, as quickly as possible.” said Chairman Colón. “The outpouring of volunteer support has been critical to this effort.”

The Democratic Party of New Mexico and its volunteers will continue working approximately 16 hours per day until the election results are certified.

Help Eric Griego Gather State Senate Petition Signatures

From Eric Griego for State Senate:
We are getting a great response to our efforts to collect nominating signatures to secure my place on the June 3 primary ballot. As volunteers and I have gone door-to-door, the response to my candidacy for State Senate District 14 has been overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic. Please help me continue this effort by volunteering to help. We will be walking most weekends for the next four to six weeks. Please come join a petition gathering walk. Here are the dates during the rest of February for collecting nominating signatures: 

• Saturday, February 16 - 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM
• Sunday, Feb. 17 - 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
• Saturday, Feb. 23 - 10 AM to 12:30 PM
• Sunday, Feb. 24 - 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Please contact my Field Coordinator Marit Tully at 907-7752 or eric.g.griego@gmail.com to sign up. You don't need to live in District 14 to help gather signatures.

Eric's Roots and Record
Eric was born and raised in Senate District 14, and still lives in the Barelas neighborhood where he grew up. His family goes back more than ten generations in New Mexico.

As an Albuquerque City Councilor, Eric received national recognition for making campaign public financing a reality. Eric successfully fought for landmark ethics reform that took special interest money out of local politics, making Albuquerque the second city in the nation to publicly finance local elections.

He created an office of Inspector General to investigate fraud and abuse.

Eric also passed the Planned Growth Strategy to better manage development in our community. Eric was recognized by New Mexico Public Interest Group (NM PIRG) for his work on better managing Albuquerque's water supply.

He passed the Quarter Cent for Public Safety that put 100 new police officers on the street and provided funding for desperately needed prevention and treatment programs such as the Metropolitan Assessment and Treatment Services (MATS).

Campaign Team

• Campaign Manager: Neri Holguin, 217-8705, neriholguin@gmail.com
• Field Coordinator: Marit Tully, 907-7752, c/o eric.g.griego@gmail.com
• Fundraising Coordinator: Ann Marie Padilla, 620-2783, annmariepadilla@gmail.com
• Campaign Treasurer: Dely Alcantara

Campaign Headquarters
620 Roma NW, Downtown ABQ (SE corner of 7th Street & Roma)
Mailing address: PO Box 25191, Albuquerque, NM 87125

(3 Updates) Ethics: Aren't You Sick of the Unnamed Alligators?

"Birdies" told me so.

UPDATE 3: See my later post that follows up on this one and reports on the "campaign limits contest" proposed by some alligator.

UPDATE 2: Be sure to read this post at Clearly New Mexico for more detail on the handling of ethics and campaign finance reform bills at the NM Legislature this year. It tells it like it is. Quote:

The fact of the matter is that Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, AARP and numerous other organizations have been actively pushing Clean Elections, Contribution Limits and an independent Ethics Commission for three years.

... the real question we all should ask and keep asking: Why are some legislative leaders putting the deep freeze on ethics reform - and right before a big election no less?

UPDATE 1: If you want more commentary on the corrupting influence of money, insider cronies and powerful lobbyists at the Roundhouse, be sure to read this piece over at Duke City Fix, this post over at m-pyre and at NM FBIHOP. They're all cookin' with gas.
**********
Too cowardly to speak their piece in public, too many of the most status quo/reactionary legislators, hangers on and lobbyists for elite special interests are content to leak unsourced material by taking on the personnae of the much cited Alligators over at Joe Monahan's place. It's a convenient ploy that can be used to try and gain political advanatage -- whether or not such Alligators really exist in terms of a specific issue. Who's to say where the gossip and spin are really coming from and why? After all, I could put all kinds of statements onto DFNM and claim "birdies" told me so. Who's to argue? There's no proof one way or the other.

The lastest of these stealth attacks clearly aims to convince folks that ethics and campaign finance reforms don''t have a chance in the Legislature AGAIN this year. Even more egregious is the lame excuse being pushed that the ethics package won't pass -- and maybe even shouldn't pass -- because the reformers want too much reform. Ain't that a hoot? Yes, after all the horrendous corruption scandals here and just about everywhere else in the nation due to unrestrained corporate money flowing into the system and everyone looking the other way, we have some nerve demanding that a handful of reforms -- that are supported by the public by a 70-85% margin -- be enacted. If only we'd be more patient. Quote:

Back at the Roundhouse, as our Alligators predicted, major ethics legislation appears dead. Are the ethics lobbyists asking for too much at once? That's a complaint we're hearing. Critics say after years of failure, ethics advocates should push for one big ethics bill a year, not big ethics packages. They argue if you get one piece of the pie each year, after a couple of years you would have a whole pie. Perhaps the donors to Common Cause will think about that in light of yet another unsuccessful session.

No, actually I know that donors to Common Cause and others who have long been fighting to get recalcitrant politicos to face the music and play by some rules will hold LEGISLATORS responsible if this year's ethics package doesn't pass. I know, those who reap the benefits of unfettered campaign "contributions" and don't want anyone looking into ethics allegations with a law with teeth don't want anything passed at all. And if the citizenry gets too loud, they may surrender some tiny piece of turf but never all the pieces that would create a real wall against corruption. "Alligators" are like that.

Another Example of Insider Crapola
If you want more evidence that much of what Monahan and his "Alligators" say is mostly a bunch of hooie, coming directly from the perches of the elite, dig these paragraphs offering a cure for the kinds of caucus/primary problems that are being experienced all over the nation this year:

What the party really needs--to be crass about it--is rich people to serve as chair. Why? Because current Chair Brian Colon says the lack of money was the big reason why the party did not have more voting sites and materials for the election. The party held back spending on those items as well as consultants because he did not have the cash to pay for them.

The chief job of a party chairman is to raise money. Rich people are good at raising money from their rich friends. It's a formula that has been followed for years in both parties.

Yeah, Joe, that's why the nation and the planet are facing the kinds of emergencies on every level that are caused by arrogant hubris and unrestrained power in the hands of "rich people." Of course what Joe leaves out is the fact that much of the money in the state this year went to fund a Quixotic presidential campaign through New Hampshire. You know which one. And, in fact, I don't recall Colon saying anything to that effect anyway. Mostly, he's been taking all the blame for whatever problems happened because he evidently believes that when problems arise, the most important thing is to fix them, not look for scapegoats or seek ways to cover your own behind.

What credibility Monahan has in anything he might say about "what the Party needs" is beyond me, anyway. If you aren't active in the Party, Joe, we really don't care what you have to say about what we need. Frankly -- to be crass about it -- there's no chance in hell that your motives are pure and that you're just dying to give the Party the advice it needs to make it even stronger than it is now. Nobody is naive enough to believe that. And as to this gem:

Paying for a full-time chairman is unlikely to improve fund-raising performance. It is a fact that having a well-established politico with personal money will.

Maybe Joe should do some research before making sweeping generalizations like this. As a matter of fact, modernized, efficient and ethically-run political parties around the country do indeed have paid chairs and even paid fundraisers and other staff. Why? Because the corrosive influence of "rich families" has a tendency to be blunted when professionals take over from good 'ol boys (and sometimes even girls).

A parting thought. According to almost every single rank and file Dem in the Party I've ever talked to -- and contrary to your assertions -- John Wertheim was the one of the worst Party Chairs we've ever had, "wealthy family" or not. (If you're wondering why I'm bringing up Wertheim's name here, go read Monahan's post all the way to the end.)

Wertheim was a chair who wouldn't produce an adequate and transparent financial statement for the Party, refused to consider having the Party's books audited regularly and handed significant money over to at least one "consultant" without even bothering to produce a contract or scope of work to cover the transaction. He antagonized almost every segment of the Party except, of course, the one that appears to be represented in most of the holding forth in Monahan's post today -- monied interests with monied priorities who want to conduct business in secret and the public be damned.

You're Invited: 2/13 Fundraiser for Martin Heinrich

Please join us at the home of Linda Joyce
for a House Party Fundraiser with
Democratic Congressional Candidate
Martin Heinrich
§
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
5:30-7:00PM
§
13220 Executive Ridge Dr. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87112
§
Please consider making an investment in New Mexico’s future
with your contribution of $25, $50, $100
or whatever your finances will allow!
§
Hors d'oeuvres, dessert, beer, wine and soft drinks provided.
Please RSVP to Linda at (505) 292-2611
Click for invitation (doc)

Turnout Huge: Obama Takes Maine

Waiting in line, Maine caucus

Despite snow, cold and big winds, Maine Dems packed caucus sites yesterday and gave Obama his fifth victory of the weekend, which also included Obama wins Saturday in Washington State, Louisiana, Nebraska and the Virgin Islands. The win in Maine was something of an upset for Obama, as recent external and internal polling had shown Clinton with a significant lead. He ended up besting Clinton by a margin of 59% to 40%, or 15 delegates to her 9. Check below the fold for a list of the states so far won by each candidate, along with their winning margins. According to the a statement by Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe:

Obama has now won 20 contests to Clinton’s 11; he’s won a larger share of the popular vote; and he’s projected to more than triple his current pledged delegate lead since Super Tuesday from 27 pledged delegates to 84, a net gain of 57 pledged delegates. This weekend’s net gain of 57 pledged delegates represents more than the 42 delegate net gain that Clinton won in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tennessee and Arizona – combined.

Oh, and guess what? There were still outstanding precincts in Maine's vote totals reported today -- this in a place where Dems have been running caucuses for decades and there were 420 locations in a state that fits in one tiny corner of New Mexico. Turnout was so huge that sites in Portland, Bangor and other places across the state had lines snaking out the doors and many people were forced to stand out in the stormy weather waiting to get in.

The turnout was high at many caucus sites, despite harsh weather. Many people in Maine's 420 cities and towns were taking part in the state's delegate-selection process for the first time, driven to participate by excitement over the highly competitive race.

"If it wasn't so close I wouldn't vote," said Mark Antoine, who waited more than an hour in line at the state's largest caucus site, Portland High School, to cast his vote for Obama. Antoine, 20, said it was the first time he had participated in any election. There was no parking for several blocks around the school, and some stood in slushy snow and shivered in lines that extended around the block.

According to a story in the Portland Herald:

More than 46,000 voters, including 4,000 who cast absentee ballots, participated in the caucuses, easily breaking the record of 17,000 from 2004.

We exceeded that in a way none of us could have foreseen," said Arden Manning, executive director of Maine's Democratic Party. "Democrats really want something different, and they want something new. That's why they attended in such high numbers."

... The record voter turnout in Maine plus the bad weather led to long lines and confusion at many caucus sites about how a caucus works. The caucus at Cape Elizabeth High School started an hour behind schedule. Caucusgoers waited in two lines snaking out the door even as a wet snow started to fall shortly after 1 p.m.

Portland High School was mobbed with voters three hours before the caucus was scheduled to begin. A line of people stretched from inside the building to outside in the falling snow, with the end of the line falling on Congress Street -- three blocks from the school's Cumberland Avenue entrance. Inside, the school's athletic teams held bake sales as some voters clamored for seats inside the gymnasium and many others figured out where to register.

Packed Maine caucus

Big Dem Turnouts Cause Probems All Across America
Sound familiar? Recall that many of the Nevada caucus sites were so chaotic, people gave up and went home, and an investigation will be conducted by the Nevada Dem Party to look into irregularities. Reports were rampant about people being given incorrect info at the sites about how to vote and who could vote. In California, problems in Los Angeles with a "double bubble" ballot used by non-Dem voters resulted in up to 94,500 ballots being rejected. In several states the Democratic Party websites tracking the results of the contests were so overrun with visitors that they crashed early in the process and stayed down for hours. As of yesterday, only 89% of precincts had reported certified results from Minnesota's February 5th caucuses. In some states, it's still unclear how many delegates have been allocated to each candidate. I could go on.

Why haven't these problems been trumpeted continually by the media? One reason -- the contests in these places weren't close enough for the problems to make much of a difference. Here in New Mexico, however, with only about a thousand-vote margin separating Clinton and Obama, the spotlight glares on with judges from both campaigns monitoring the process closely. Thankfully, the rules negotiated to qualify the more than 17,000 provisional ballots that were cast will result in ballots being rejected for only the most glaring errors. In a number of other states, authorities have taken the opposite view. It's much harder to qualify and count messy, complicated provisional ballots than it is to toss them out or leave them unprocessed, as happened in New Mexico's 2004 Dem caucus.

Candidate wins as of today and margins of victory:

Clinton (10)
Arkansas +43
Oklahoma +24
New York +17
Massachusetts +15
Tennessee +13
California +10
New Jersey +10
Arizona +9
Nevada +6
New Hampshire +3

Obama (19)
Idaho +62
Alaska +50
Kansas +48
Washington +37
Georgia +36
Nebraska +36
Colorado +35
Minnesota +35
Illinois+32
South Carolina +32
North Dakota +24
Louisiana +21
Maine +18
Utah +18
Alabama +14
Delaware +10
Iowa +9
Connecticut +4
Missouri +1

Status of NM Dem Prez Caucus: Calling All Albuquerque Area Dems

Nancy Denker of Focus Ink and other vols processing provisionals

Volunteers are still needed from now until at least Tuesday to help count New Mexico Caucus provisional ballots. The task is taking place at the offices of REDW, located at 6401 Jefferson St. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109 (map), (505) 998-3200. Please call Robert Adams at (505) 975-8780 if you'd like to volunteer for a shift. 

Netroots Challenge to Democrats: The dozens of volunteers, judges and staffers who are taking shifts -- sometimes very long ones -- processing and qualifying Caucus provisional ballots at REDW for 16 hours a day can get very hungry and thirsty. Can we help keep them hydrated and fed? Are you up to the challenge? Whether you can devote some time to the provisional ballot process or not, think about bringing over a donation of fruits, veggies, cheeses, crackers, juices, soft drinks, munchies, pizza, sandwiches or whatever strikes your fancy.

If you'd like, call Robert Adams at 975-8780 to see what's needed, or just stop by with the goods. You know what they always say about Democrats -- we may not always be superbly organized but we do have a tradition of supporting one another. (Hat tip to Anni Smith for the suggestion.)

Where Do We Stand in the Count?
Yesterday the Chairman of Democratic Party of New Mexico Brian Colón announced that the Party had initiated the qualification of provisional ballots. This is the process of assuring that voters are registered and have not already cast a ballot. Earlier Saturday, the Party completed the processing of the provisional ballots, and has already completed the canvass of regular and absentee ballots. 

"Saturday, with the work of scores of volunteers, we began qualifying provisional ballots to ensure that every vote counts," said Chairman Colón. "Voters waited for hours to send a message that's its time for a change in the White House, we must work for hours and days, to make sure their vote counts. Through this qualification process, we will assure that every registered voter's ballot will be counted."

With the help of several dozen volunteers working on several shifts covering 16 hours per day, the Democratic Party of New Mexico has completed the following phases within the vote-counting and certification process:

• Established an agreement with ground rules between the two parties;
• Completed the scanning of more than 137,000 voter signatures;
• Completed the counting of more than 141,000 regular and absentee votes; and
• Processed over 17,200 provisional ballots, which is the first step before qualifying and tabulating the provisional ballots.

"Some may criticize our agreement with the two campaigns for being too inclusive, but the rules of the caucus, and the Democratic Party of New Mexico are built on inclusion," said Colón. "We fundamentally believe that every registered vote should count. The Democratic Party and the two campaigns have an agreement based on inclusion."

The Democratic Party of New Mexico will continue working through the weekend approximately 16 hours per day until the election results are certified.

All photos taken at REDW on Saturday, February 9, 2008 by M.E. Broderick.

To read our previous coverage on Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses, visit our archive.

(Updated) 2/9/08 Dem Prez Contests: LA, NE, WA, VI

Note: Volunteers are needed to help count New Mexico Caucus provisional ballots at REDW in Albuquerque. Click for more info.

UPDATE: Barack Obama increased his already formidable momentum by sweeping all four contests by large margins. Data from CNN:

Louisiana Primary
Obama:  57%,  33 delegates
Clinton:  36%,  22 delegates

Nebraska Caucuses
Obama:  68%,  16 delegates
Clinton:  32%,  8 delegates

Washington State Caucuses
Obama:  68%,  35 delegates
Clinton  32%,  15 delegates

Virgin Islands Convention
Obama:  3 delegates
Clinton:  0 delegates

*************
If you're interested in tracking the voting and delegate projections in the three states and one territory holding Dem presidential nominee contests today, this diary on Daily Kos features neat graphs that will update as results come in later today. (You'll have to refresh the page.) Also check out the dynamic with the data that will generate the graphs. There will also be results on CNN and MSNBC.

Louisiana has a primary, Washington State and Nebraska hold caucuses and the Virgin Islands conduct a unique territorial convention to determine the allocation of delegates to the Democratic convention this August. More info below.

February 9, 2008 Democratic contests:

-- Louisiana primary: 56 delegates at stake. (37 proportional by CD, 15% threshold; 19 based on statewide vote, 15% threshold.) Independents cannot vote. Polls open at 7:00 AM ET and close at 9:00 PM ET.

-- Nebraska caucuses: 24 delegates at stake. (16 delegates selected as a result of the caucuses proportionally by CD, of which there are 3, 15% threshold; other 8 are selected at the June 28 state convention based on preferences of state convention delegates, 15% threshold.) There is same-day registration at the caucuses, and they operate similar to how they do in Iowa. Caucusing begins as early as 11:00 AM ET and they end as late as 9:30 PM ET.

-- Virgin Islands territorial convention: 3 delegates at stake. (Proportional by statewide vote, 15% threshold. There are actually 6 pledged delegates, who will be seated at the national convention, but their votes only count for half.)

-- Washington caucuses: 78 delegates at stake. (Multi-tiered caucus. 51 proportional by CD, no threshold; 27 elected at state convention by the 51 CD delegates and those 27 will be selected proportionally by the statewide vote.) Voters sign a party declaration same day as the caucuses. Caucusing begins at 4:00 PM ET, and we should have results no later than 9:00 PM ET.

Via MyDD, with leaked Obama campaign predictions:

            Obama (delegates)       Clinton (delegates)

Louisiana    54% (31)                 44% (25)
Nebraska     60% (15)                 40% (9)
Virgin Isl.     60% (2)                  40% (1)
Washington  60% (49)                 40% (29)

(Updated-HB9 Fails) Domestic Partnership: The Facts

UPDATE: Much of this post is now moot, for now anyway, because the Domestic Partnership Act (HB9) failed to pass in the NM Senate Judiciary Committee this morning. It was tabled by a vote of 6-4. More than 200 supporters were in attendence. Sen. Lidio Rainaldi (D-Gallup) had a major hand in killing the bill, as he did last year. Rio Arriba County legislator Sen. Richard Martinez (D-Espanola) was the other Dem defector. Funny how the concepts of "sanctity" and "Catholic morality" are only in play when crushing measures that seek to correct civil liberty travesties, but not when you're greedily grabbing taxpayer money to fund the follies of your cronies. More to come on this.
*************
Yesterday's New Mexico In Focus on KNME included a discussion during The Line portion of the show on New Mexico's domestic partnership act (HB9). The bill is currently held up in the NM Senate Judiciary Committee after passing the House and the Senate Public Affairs Committee. The topic is covered during the first eight and a half minutes or so of the video clip above.

As a gay person in an 18-year relationship with my partner, I found much of the discussion to be accurate and on target, but I had trouble with a couple of the ideas suggested for a fix in lieu of domestic partnership legislation. Both James Scarantino and Pat Frisch advanced the notion that all the basic civil rights delineated in the domestic partnership act could be achieved merely by having partners sign contracts of various sorts. Pat Frisch even suggested this could be done by downloading simple documents available on the web. There are serious problems with this approach.

Can Contracts Replicate Legislation?
As Margaret Montoya states, it would be impossible to contractually achieve the 100 or more rights guaranteed by marriage under state law. Even if it could be done, it would cost thousands of dollars and many hours of time to obtain basic legal rights that the rest of the citizenry gets for free if they enter into what amounts to a legal civil union, apart from any church ceremony. Is that fair?

Moreover, there are myriad real-life examples posted all over the web of people who ran into trouble during medical emergencies and similar situations. For instance, many have encountered problems if they don't have copies on their person of all the legal contracts they executed to try and obtain at least some legal protections. Even if people keep copies of such documents with them at all times, there are many examples of authorities denying their validity for proving next of kin status or other legalities in an emergency.

Such problems often arise at times of great stress, adding to the pain caused by the event itself. Perhaps a partner is suddenly injured or becomes seriously ill while traveling and is unconcious -- and medical personnel refuse to allow the other partner to make medical decisions on behalf of the partner in distress. Sometimes a partner dies unexpectedly and authorities take charge of the body and refuse to release it to the surviving partner. Believe me, horror stories abound about situations like this.

Contracts Can't Replicate All Rights
While partners can execute certain legal documents that seek to protect their rights -- like wills and  powers of attorney -- there are many essential legal rights that are unobtainable through contracting. I'll use a situation from my own experience as an example. I'm lucky enough to be able to purchase health insurance via my partner's employer as a domestic partner, even though we have no explicit legal documentation supplied by the state of our partnership. Before my partner agreed to accept her current job, she requested such coverage be made available. Because her employer was enlightened enough to negotiate with their insurance provider, I was able to be added onto her health insurance coverage at the same cost spouses pay. All we had to do was sign an affidavit that attested to our relationship.

Of course the deductions from my partner's paycheck that pay for my coverage are taxable, unlike the tax-free deductions for insurance of spouses or dependents. But I do have medical insurance I couldn't get or afford on my own. All well and good -- as long as my partner stays at that employer. If she switched to a job at a smaller firm to better her career and/or compensation, there would be no way for me to obtain coverage under her policy. This is true even if the new employer wanted to offer it to me -- as some potential employers have.

Insurance companies won't offer domestic partner coverage in New Mexico via sworn affidavit unless the employer group is large. No current law requires them to do so. And bear in mind that most firms in New Mexico are small ones in the eyes of the insurance industry. However, if the domestic partnership law currently being considered by our Legislature were passed, they'd have to offer me coverage as long as my partner and I had obtained an official domestic partnership license for $25. There is no way this could be achieved with any kind of contract between my partner and I.

An Aside on Federal Law
Oh, and by the way, if my partner should be layed off, my coverage would be cut immediately regardless. My partner could extend her coverage under the federal government's COBRA law until she found another job with benefits. But because Bill Clinton signed the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal government can offer COBA coverage only to heterosexual married couples. Even if gay couples have legalized their relationships using domestic partnership, civil union or gay marriage laws, the federal government is precluded by DOMA from recognizing such relationships. And if my partner took a job with the federal government, we'd be out of luck on all counts. The federal government is prohibited from offering any benefits at all to domestic partners or those united via civil union or gay marriage laws due to DOMA. Thanks, Bill.

Voting on Civil Rights
One last thing. Pat Frisch also suggested it might be a good idea to have New Mexicans vote on whether domestic partneship licenses should be made available. I wonder how many other minorities would like to have their basic civil rights dependent on a vote of the majority. Imagine how well that would have worked during the civil rights era in the 60s when African-Americans were empowered, or even now in some places. One of the most critical goals of a democracy is, by its very nature and definition, to protect the rights of minorities from the tyranny of majorities. Should GLBT people be left out of this equation because of certain narrow religious or moral beliefs held by segments of the populace? You tell me.

Noon Today On Insight New Mexico Progressive Talk Radio

The next installment of airs on Albuquerque's Progressive Talk Radio 1350 AM from Noon to 1:00 PM today, Saturday, February 9. Cohosted by Heather Brewer and Javier Benavidez and produced by Suzanne Prescott, the weekly show covers the latest happenings at the Legislative Session and other local political news. You can call in live during the show with your questions and comments at 338- 4090. This week's show features:

• Gene Grant fresh from the recent edition of In Focus on KNME discusses 'Gene's terrible Superbowl adventure' and Roundhouse Activity this week. Gene couldn't make it, but Matt of will provide insight on the NM Caucus and other local politics today.
• Debbie O'Malley brings us up to date on the housing crisis in ABQ and New Mexico and what we can do about it
• Coco from Cocoposts is back again with us to tell why TIDDS is actually important
• If were lucky we'll also have Elias Barelas to tell us how he has survived another week in the NM legislature and what's happening with the bills he's involved with.

NM Dem Prez Caucus: What's Happening Now

Voters at Montezuma Elementary in Albuquerque

Volunteers are needed to help count provisional ballots at RDEW in Albuquerque. Click for more info.

Attorneys for the Clinton and Obama campaigns, State Democratic Party officials, various staffers, temporary workers and volunteers are continuing to labor at the accounting firm of RDEW in Albuquerque to produce a final, official tally of the votes cast in New Mexico's February 5th Democratic Presidential Preference Caucus.

Regular paper ballots had been handcounted at the Caucus sites after voting closed on Tuesday. The results were then phoned in to Dem Party headquarters that night, where the tallies were recorded. This constituted the "unofficial count." Next the ballots had to be run through optical scan tabulators, and the results compared with the handcount totals. The signatures of those who signed in to vote at the Caucus sites are being scanned into a computer to produce a master list showing who cast a ballot. There's also a listing of the folks who voted by absentee (mail-in) ballot.

Provisional Ballot Count
Workers are expected to begin sometime today to examine more than 17,276 provisional ballots. The special ballots were used by people who a) showed up to vote but weren't on the registered voter rolls, b) were at the wrong Caucus site or c) had requested an absentee (mail-in) ballot but failed to return it and voted in person instead. The latest update of New Mexico's vote count was released yesterday morning and does not contain any provisional ballots.

Standards for Qualifying Provisional Ballots
Campaign attorneys and Dem Party officials spent the past few days negotiating standards that will be used to judge whether a provisional ballot qualifies as legitimate or must be tossed out. The standards were designed to reject only those provisionals that are obviously illegitimate -- not those that may exhibit minor errors like a missing middle initial. The aim was to be inclusive, transparent, consistent and fair.

Provisional ballot analysis will determine whether the vote was made by a registered Democrat, and whether the individual had voted previously at another Caucus site or via absentee. The Party's registered Democrat voter list has reportedly been rechecked to make sure it contains the names of all the Dems on the Secretary of State's official list. According to Kate Nash, these are the main standards released by the State Party that will govern provisional ballot qualification:

1. The absence of either an inner or outer envelope is not dispositive as to the disqualification of a provisional ballot.

2. The absence of a signature on an affidavit is not dispositive as to the disqualification of a provisional ballot.

3. The absence of the use of the official DPNM affidavit is not dispositive as to the disqualification of a provisional ballot.

4. The absence of the use of the official DPNM provisional ballot is not dispositive as to the disqualification of a provisional ballot.

5. A discrepancy as to the correct congressional district is not dispositive as to the disqualification of a provisional ballot.

6. In accordance with the philosophy of inclusion, if a link can be made between the name of a voter and that voter's provisional ballot, that ballot will be qualified and counted in the tally unless:

a. It cannot be demonstrated within a reasonable degree of certainty that the provisional voter was registered and eligible to participate in the February 5, 2008 caucus;

b. It can be demonstrated within a reasonable degree of certainty that the provisional voter cast another ballot, whether absentee, emergency, regular, or other provisional ballot.

The Party's deadline for certifying the Caucus results is February 15th, and it may take that long to finish the provisional ballot qualification process.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf