Democracy for New Mexico

(Updated) Taos Democrats for Clean Elections Files Challenge to Taos County Party Election

As reported on the Democratic Party of New Mexico website, the Party's Judicial Council will be convening today at 3:00 PM by conference call to hear a challenge filed on behalf of a group called the Taos Democrats for Clean Elections. A PDF of the challenge and appeal documents can be found here on the DPNM website.

The complaint alleges that the methodology used to apportion precincts for the Taos County Central Committee was "fundamentally flawed and violated the rules of the Democratic Party of New Mexico." The challenge requests that the Taos County State Central Committee members not be credentialed for the April 28, 2007 DPNM State Central Committee meeting and that a new election of Taos County Central Committee members be held. The requests are based on the claim that the use of an invalid methodology means that all actions and decisions coming from the Taos CCC, including the election of state central committee members, are also invalid.

For more information, contact the Democratic Party of New Mexico at 505.830.3650. The meeting is open to the public but those interested in attending should call the Party to make sure where they can be accommodated.

UPDATE 1:42 PM: The Democratic Party of New Mexico has informed me that two rebuttals of the complaint have now been posted on their website and suggested that I link to them as a matter of fairness. The rebuttals can be found here.

Editor's Note: For some background on what led up to this challenge, see our previous posts:

• March 26, 2007
• April 10, 2007
• April 11, 2007

Another View On Unfair Apportionment in Taos County

This post was submitted by Claudia Kuhns of Colorado:
I have been following the precinct elections and the county re-organization in Taos County both this year and in 2005.  It is appalling that the gains in organization and equality have been obliterated by one group of so-called Democrats cheating to get their man elected as county chair. It is even more appalling that this appears to have been done with the complicity of the state Democratic Party which has not even followed its own rules in apportioning precinct representatives as well as allowing election fraud in some precincts while disenfranchising citizens in other precincts. Is there really any democracy in New Mexico?

This seems to follow the same pattern of oppression by some members of the Democratic Party in New Mexico in 2004 when an outrageously exorbitant fee was established for a recount in the Presidential election. This fee was established by then Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron and Governor Bill Richardson, both Democrats. It has since been statistically proved that there were gross irregularities in a significant number of precincts in New Mexico. The stopping of the recount was subsequently ruled illegal by the New Mexico Supreme Court.

More recently in the CD 1 race Patricia Madrid narrowly lost to Heather Wilson.  Again democracy was thwarted as no recount was done. In many states the narrow margin in this race would have triggered an automatic recount. One wonders why Ms. Madrid conceded so quickly.

Where are the real Democrats in New Mexico? Is the Democratic Party being run by Republicans in Democrats' clothing?  Sure sounds like that might be the case.

Claudia Kuhns
Executive Director
The Public Integrity Project
Be the Change USA

Editor's Note: See our previous posts on this topic here, here and . This post was submitted by Claudia Kuhns. Guest blogs such as these provide an opportunity for readers to express their opinions on political topics and do not necessarily reflect the views of DFNM. If you'd like to submit a post for possible publication as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link in the upper left-hand corner of our main page.

Evidence of Unfair Apportionment Formula Used by DPNM for Taos County Precincts

Above graphs and story submitted by "Taos County Democrat":
What's wrong with this picture? Note that the apportionment formulas used by the Democratic Party of New Mexico to determine representatives to the Democratic County Central Committee meetings in Bernalillo and Santa Fe Counties produced fairly even results, and a fair share of representation per Dem voter to every precinct. However, in Taos County, the State Party used a different formula that produced very uneven results, with significantly more representatives per Democratic voter in some precincts and significantly less representatives per Democratic voter in others.

In Taos County, representation ratio, RR values, vary from 1:26 to 1:94, and the distribution of the uneven results breaks clearly along ethnic lines. Additionally, the under-represented precincts are where high populations of non-Hispanics constitute an equal or majority portion of the Democratic electorate for that precinct.

The apportionments in Bernalillo and Santa Fe Counties conform to the Proportional Representation Rule of the State Party, while the Taos County apportionment does not:

RULE 17. PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
The policy of the DPNM is to preserve equitable minority representation at all levels of the convention and meeting processes, and to that end committees and delegations to conventions shall be selected, insofar as reasonably possible, to represent proportionally any vote. Except as otherwise provided in these rules or in rules governing a National Convention there shall be no automatic delegates to any convention. -- Rules of the Democratic Party of New Mexico

The State Party is arguing that it assigned a CCC member to every precinct to ensure that all precincts would be represented. Representation is not the issue. It is PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION that is the issue.

For example, Taos County Precinct 09 (Arroyo Hondo) was apportioned 10 CCC representatives and Taos County Precinct 31 (El Valle) was apportioned "1" CCC representative. El Valle has a 26 average Democratic vote to factor, while Arroyo Hondo has an 879 average Democratic vote factor.

If the Democratic Party of New Mexico's precinct apportionment of CCC members for Taos County was a proportional representation of the average Democratic vote for Taos County Precinct 09 (Arroyo Hondo), that precinct would have been apportioned 34 CCC members (879 ÷ 26).

While the State Party is arguing that they were merely assuring representation from each precinct, they actually radically disenfranchised the larger Taos County Precincts in the process by a factor of 3 to 4. The result is in direct opposition to the State Party's own rule.

What's so democratic about a State Democratic party that argues against proportional representation of democratic voters? Easy answer ... nothing. If the Republicans would have done this there would be a revolution.

Editor's Note: Previous posts on this topic can be found here and . To submit a guest post or other information for possible publication on DFNM, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link in the upper left-hand corner of the main page.

Gov. Richardson Touts DFNM's Paper Ballot Effort in Iraq War Message to DFA

"I don't support leaving a residual force in Iraq. We should get out lock, stock, and barrel." - Governor Bill Richardson

Democracy for America has asked the presidential candidates to respond to a request for a statement about their positions on Iraq. Here's the video response from Gov. Bill Richardson. In addition to strong statements about the Iraq war, Gov. Richardson comments on how much he enjoyed working with Democracy for New Mexico members on the successful paper ballot initiative passed during last year's legislative session. As I'm sure you recall, many of us worked hard on gaining passage for that landmark legislation (introduced by NM Sen. Linda Lopez) along with the wonderful grassroots election reform groups United Voters of NM, Verified Voting NM, Voter Action and others. (Click for post on bill signing.)

Here's what DFA's Executive Director, Tom Hughes, has to say about Gov. Richardson's message:

From Democracy for America:
Watch Gov. Richardson's Response "I agree." That is just one of Governor Bill Richardson's responses to DFA members who wrote comments in our Presidential Primary Petition on Iraq. We asked each of the candidates to oppose any escalation of the Iraq War, demand a swift end to the occupation, and propose a plan that brings our brave men and women home. I'm excited to make his video to you available today.

https://www.democracyforamerica.com/richardson

Governor Richardson has a long history in American foreign policy, including negotiating the release of two American prisoners in Iraq directly from Saddam Hussein during Bill Clinton's presidency. The Governor believes "we need to get out of Iraq this calendar year." He supports diplomacy that brings "a reconciliation of the three religious groups into a coalition government" and "surrounding powers in the region to deal with future security." What he doesn't support is leaving a residual force in Iraq. "We should get out lock, stock and barrel."

This isn't the first time Governor Richardson has worked with DFA members. Last year, he worked with a local DFA group in New Mexico (Democracy for New Mexico) to pass verifiable paper ballots. According to Governor Richardson, "It's the law of the land here in our state and we did it together."

DFA members will continue to work together and pressure the presidential candidates on the most important issues. Our voices will be heard and our actions will continue to move America forward.

Thank you for everything you do,
Tom Hughes, Executive Director, DFA

P.S. Governor Richardson made this video specifically for Democracy for America. If you like what you see and hear, I encourage you to sign up for his campaign and help in any way you can:

https://richardsonforpresident.com

That said, this message should not be construed as an endorsement of Governor Richardson's candidacy. In the months ahead other candidates for president will be reaching out to Democracy for America members too, because you have the power to shape the presidential primaries in a way no one else can.

Editor's Note: John Edwards has also responded with a short video to DFA's call for a message on his position on Iraq. Click to read our previous post with his video.

Democracy for New Mexico is loosely affiliated with the national group, Democracy for America, which has its origins in the presidential campaign of Howard Dean when it was known as Dean for America. Click to learn more about DFA.

DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetups are held on the first Thursday of the month in Albuquerque. To become a member and join our email list, visit our Meetup site. You should also register at Democracy for America so you can be kept informed of their actions on the national level. Once registered, you can also join our DFA Link group. Although we still use Meetup for our meeting organization, members are urged to also register at our DFA Link page so they can receive important information from the national group.

More on Controversial Taos County Dem Party Elections

A collection of audio clips and photos from the Democratic Party of Taos County Central Committee last week are provided by CulturalEnergy.org (scroll down to stories of week of March 26, 2007 and click the Central Committee meeting link). After a meeting filled with arcane parliamentarian maneuvers and rulings, Chuby Tafoya was elected as Taos County Chair in a victory over the current County Chair, Billy Knight.

Background
The manner in which some of the County Party's earlier precinct elections were conducted was widely criticised, with challenges ultimately filed against the validity of the elections in five precincts. Next came a County Credentials Committee meeting, where the challenges were dismissed against four precincts where many of Chuby Tafoya's supporters reside. Many claim this was done without a proper review by the Credentials Committee of affidavits and ballots submitted to document alleged irregularities and rule breaking. One challenge, by Chuby Tafoya's supporters in the large Arroyo Hondo precinct, where most of Billy Knight's supporters (as well as Tafoya) live, was accepted by the Credentials Committee without a review.

Attendees report that despite the presence of the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, the DNC Field Organizer, Joseph Casados, and the State Party Parliamentarian, Robert Beck, on hand to chair the Credentials Committee meeting, not one single person was credentialed and not one single precinct's election documentation examined. Many who witnessed it are calling it an astounding display of incompetence and a violation of Party rules.

Taos County Central Committee Meeting
The audio clips are from the County Central Committee meeting where the Credentials Committee rulings were accepted in violation of the Party rules, and a majority voted to keep the Arroyo Hondo precinct winners from voting in the County Chair election. Some of the speakers describe their reactions to the Arroyo Hondo precinct delegation being kept from voting based on what they deem to be murky and minor technicalities, if any, while other more serious precinct election challenges were set aside without any real review of the evidence by the Credential Committee. Indeed, it seems that clear evidence of the alleged ballot tampering by Tafoya's father was suppressed from examination by the majority vote of the Tafoya-dominated Credentials Committee.

From approximately 7 minutes until 13 minutes on the audio recording, Margarita Denevan gives an especially passionate and clear defense of how the rules were clearly and closely followed in the Arroyo Hondo precinct elections -- ironically, the only precinct where the Credentials Committee saw supposed violations.

After the voting for County Chair was finished at the CCC meeting, giving Chuby Tafoya a victory without any votes from the Arroyo Hondo precinct, the majority voted to reinstate the Arroyo Hondo delegation.

What Comes Next
Emotions continue to run high in Taos, and much criticism continues to be leveled by many of those who attended the Credentials Committee meeting on State Party parliamentarian Robert Beck and Executive Director Matt Farrauto, who were present but did not question the proceedings. It's being alleged that the Credential Committee did not even vote to approve the credentials of those who were allowed to vote at the County Central Committee meeting, and the legality of holding the County Central Committee meeting itself was questioned by incumbent Chair Billy Knight. Knight reportedly intends to challenge precinct elections in three precincts — Talpa, Cruz Alta and Ranchitos — to the state party’s judicial committee.

This is a complicated and emotional situation and it has been somewhat difficult to get and communicate a clear narrative of what happened at the Taos Dem meetings from the reports I'm getting from up north. I hope I'm getting it right so far, as information continues to be released.

Previously Available Material
Check my that lists some of the challenges that were later to be filed against various precinct elections. There's also material on New Mexico Matters that describes alleged violations in one precinct, as well as scanned precinct ballots that show alleged tampering. There's also coverage of an article published by the Taos Daily Horse Fly, which presents the controversy as a rather humorous anecdote, rather than a serious situation where precinct election fraud is being alleged and the process by which Dem Party rules were applied (or not) is being challenged.

(4 Updates) It's Official: Gov. Richardson Calls Special Session of the NM Legislature

UPDATE 3.21.07, 11:15 AM: The hearing on the House floor for the Domestic Partnership bill that was originally scheduled for 2:00 PM today has been cancelled. The games continue.

UPDATE 8:15 PM: See my later post for how the day ended.

UPDATE 6:10 PM: From Kate Nash, Albuquerque Tribune -They were here for less than 30 minutes before they recessed. And the state senators haven't been back since. Word on the street is that they are still debating whether to adjourn their special session, which convened at noon today, or stick it out and pass the handful of measures Gov. Bill Richardson has demanded. The House, by all appearances, is staying. Its members met this morning and then headed to committees to consider some of the five bills introduced this morning. They are scheduled to return at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

UPDATE 2:40 PM: From Equality New Mexico: House Bill 4, the Domestic Partners Rights and Responsibilities Act, sponsored by Mimi Stewart, has been introduced on the House Floor and assigned to House Judiciary Committee. The House Judiciary Committee will meet today at 3:30 PM in Room 309. We need to have people testify and fill the committee room. If your schedule allows, we would love to see you there. Assuming we pass out of House Judiciary, the bill will be heard on the House Floor tomorrow, time to be determined. On the other side of the Roundhouse, the Senate has recessed until 4:00 PM today and we have no idea what their next move will be.
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The Special Session will be begin at Noon today. You can read his proclamation here. It contains descriptions of the eight bills he's asking the Legislature to consider, which include:

• public financing of statewide judicial elections
• limit campaign contributions to statewide and district candidates and impose other requirements
• create a state ethics commission
• enact a Clandestine Drug Laboratory Act
• increase penalties for certain acts of domestic violence
• authorize Grip II, a large road and infrastructure funding bill
• establish a legal process to register domestic partnerships for both heterosexual and same sex partners

Special Sessions can run for up to 30 days by law. Richardson has said the business at hand could probably be completed within several days. Unfortunately, he's getting some backlash about calling the Session, reportedly from a number of Senators who aren't supportive of ethics and campaign finance reform or have other problems with having to return to Santa Fe so soon after the end of the regular Session. Media sources are even suggesting there may be a plot being hatched, led by Democratic Senators, to scuttle the Session by calling a recess as soon as the Senate meets. We'll see.

If you care about important legislation like ethics and campaign finance reform, domestic partnerships, public funding of judicial elections and increased penalties for domestic abuse, encourage your State Senators and Reps to return to work and get them passed. Click to get contact info.

To see all our coverage on this year's legislature, visit our 2007 Legislature post archive.

Taos Mayor Bobby Duran and Others to be Investigated for Alleged Dem Party Election Improprieties

This item was emailed from someone in Taos and is being published as received: The Taos County Democratic Party's precinct elections were held last week in several locations in Northern New Mexico. Unfortunately, it's being alleged that serious problems with the elections arose in several precincts, and complaint affidavits will reportedly be filed at the County Party's Credentials Committee Meeting set for this Tuesday. The allegations include possible improprieties on the part of Taos Mayor Bobby Duran (photo above left) and several other prominent Taos County Democrats:

Precinct No. 21 - Talpa, NM. This precinct is chaired by Thomas Tafoya's father, Tommy Tafoya. Affidavits being collected for Tuesday's Credential's committee meeting deal with what are being termed the most serious of the election allegations. The affidavits will claim that votes were physically changed to reflect different candidate names. The Credentials person has the ballots in their possession, and indicates that numerous ballots had the selected candidate names crossed out and different names entered. More details will be forthcoming in the legal affidavits. Complainants will be asking for a new election and removal of Tommy Tafoya from the County Central Committee per Party rule 12-7 A.1. Petitions will be presented per 12-7 A.1, 2.

Precinct No. 35 - Cruz Alta. This precinct is chaired by current Taos mayor Bobby Duran. Affidavits are being collected for Tuesday's Credentials committee meeting that allege a number of election improprieties. Complainants will ask for a new election under Party rule 12-13, and removal of Bobby Duran from the State Central Committee per rule 12-7 A.1. Petitions will be presented per 12-7 A.1, 2.

Precinct No. 14 - Ranchitos. This precinct is chaired by Thomas Trujillo (Skitt's brother). Again, affidavits are being collected for Tuesday's Credentials committee meeting alleging several election improprieties, and a new election will be requested under Party rule 12-13.

More information should be available after the County Party's Credentials committee meets.

Precinct elections are being held around the state by County Democratic Parties. County Central Committee meetings will follow for the election of State Central Committee (SCC) members, who will attend the Democratic Party of New Mexico's SCC Meeting set for April 28th in Las Cruces.

Editor's Note: I posted this as received in an email from someone from Taos who seemed to have good credibility. DFNM neither supports nor refutes this information. We are passing it along as we got it. Please judge it accordingly.

Justice Department Heralded Iglesias for Election Crime Expertise

Although fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias has been heavily criticized by New Mexico Republicans about his so-called "failure" to prosecute "voter fraud," he was lauded by the U.S. Department of Justice for his expertise in that area. In the latest installment of the prosecutor firing scandal, TPMmuckraker quotes a Washington Post story describing how Iglesias was one of two U.S. Attorneys tapped (twice) to teach at a "voting integrity" symposium:

One of the U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administration after Republican complaints that he neglected to prosecute voter fraud had been heralded for his expertise in that area by the Justice Department, which twice selected him to train other federal prosecutors to pursue election crimes.

David C. Iglesias, who was dismissed as U.S. attorney for New Mexico in December, was one of two chief federal prosecutors invited to teach at a "voting integrity symposium" in October 2005. The symposium was sponsored by Justice's public integrity and civil rights sections and was attended by more than 100 prosecutors from around the country, according to an account by Iglesias that a department spokesman confirmed.

Iglesias, a Republican, said in an interview that he and the U.S. attorney from Milwaukee, Steven M. Biskupic, were chosen as trainers because they were the only ones identified as having created task forces to examine allegations of voter fraud in the 2004 elections. An agenda lists them as the panelists for a session on such task forces at the two-day seminar, which featured a luncheon speech by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

According to Iglesias, the agency invited him back as a trainer last summer, just months before a Justice official telephoned to fire him. He said he could not attend the second time because of his obligations as an officer in the Navy Reserve.

As more facts emerge about Iglesias' firing, it becomes crystal clear that complaints about his handling of alleged "voter fraud" in New Mexico are nothing more than politically partisan whining by New Mexico Republicans who wanted to use the issue to discredit Democrats and provide an excuse for their push for measures like voter ID. Such initiatives were used to discourage voting by Democratic constituents in a number of swing states for several election cycles. Despite grumblings by Sen. Domenici, Rep. Wilson, and politically powerful Republican attorneys Mickey Barnett and Pat Rogers about Iglesias' lack of indictments for "voter fraud," it's obvious Iglesias was actually considered to be an expert of sorts on the matter -- specifically due to his handling of complaints here in 2004.

All our posts on this issue can be found in our archive on this topic.

Bernalillo County Clerk Requests Public Input Evaluating 2006 Election Process

From Maggie Toulouse, Bernalillo County Clerk, Albuquerque:

2006 General Election Evaluation: PUBLIC INPUT NEEDED
What did you think of last November’s General Election?
(click for flyer (pdf) - feel free to distribute)

As part of an on-going effort to ensure accuracy, fairness, integrity and efficiency in our election process, County Clerk Maggie Toulouse will be hosting the following opportunities for the public to provide input and feedback:

PUBLIC FORUM
Party Activists and individuals (poll workers, challengers, watchers etc.) who were involved in the General Election are invited to share their experiences, concerns and suggestions in a panel forum environment. Members of the panel will include the County Clerk, Deputy Clerk and Bureau of Elections staff.  Comments will be recorded and compiled into a working list that will be considered when planning for future elections.

SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2007
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Bernalillo County Commission/City Council Chambers
One Civic Plaza, NW – Basement

STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS
Meetings will be organized with representatives from Party Organizations, Candidate Committees, and Voter Advocacy Organizations to explore experiences, concerns and suggestions in detail. Specific action plans will be developed to meet the needs of stakeholders.

APRIL 1 – APRIL 30
Meetings will be organized and scheduled upon confirmation with organizations

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
The County Clerk accepts comments from the public year round; however this period will be a concerted effort to gather as much input from the public at large as possible. Opportunities will be available via regular mail, email, and fax.

APRIL 1 – APRIL 30
Mail comments to:
Election Process Review
County Clerk
One Civic Plaza NW, 6th Floor
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Email comments to: clerk@bernco.gov
Fax comments to: (505) 768-4151

All information received as a result of this process will be compiled into a report and published for public review.

We hope that you and your organization will take this opportunity to share your experience, ideas and concerns regarding our election process. You are critical to our success!!

If you have any questions, require further information or would like to reserve time for your organization’s meeting, please contact:

Robert Adams, Deputy County Clerk
(505) 468-1207
radams@bernco.gov

MAGGIE TOULOUSE
COUNTY CLERK
ONE CIVIC PLAZA, N.W. - 6TH FLOOR
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 87102
(505) 468-1290 FAX (505) 768-4151

Editor's Note: Is this cool, or what? Excellent to see our new County Clerk reaching out to the community and encouraging input about what works and what doesn't in our election process. All those interested in making sure our elections are run efficiently, effective and fairly are urged to participate in the evaluation process. This is a great opportunity for ordinary citizens and those who are a part of the election process to contribute to making the election process in the county the very best it can be.

(Updated) Shocker: Undervote Rate Plummets in Minority Precincts After New Mexico Changes to All Paper Ballots

UPDATE 2: There's a Daily Kos diary up by Land of Enchantment that discusses the voting analysis and the poster's experiences working a precinct in Taos County, NM for the 2004 election.

UPDATE 1: This story is now getting national attention on its own merits plus its implications for the case being made by many prominent election reform advocates against Rep. Rush Holt's (D-NJ) new Election Reform bill, HR 811. In addition, the analysis of election data uncovers another manner in which DREs might be manipulated to alter results according to the language of the voter. This begs the question of whether minority voters who used DREs in 2004 were the victims of machine manipulation that produced the high undervote counts. The data seems to raise the possibility anyway. See the front page story on The Brad Blog for more.
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From VotersUnite.org:
February 26, 2007 - A new report, based on official 2004 and 2006 New Mexico election data, shows a dramatic difference in undervotes in Native American and Hispanic precincts, depending on whether they voted on paper ballots or on Direct Record Electronic (DRE — often known as touch screen) voting machines.

The report explains: "Undervotes represent ballots on which no vote was registered for a specific contest.  Undervote rates higher than 0.5% in the major contest on a ballot, especially in presidential elections, suggest that votes may not have been counted, either through a mistake of the voter or a mistake in tabulation."

The report shows that in predominantly Native American and predominantly Hispanic precincts, undervote rates were abnormally high (7.61% and 6.33% respectively) in the 2004 presidential race, when the votes were cast on DREs.

In 2006, after the state changed to all optically scanned paper ballots, the undervote rates for Governor in those same precincts plummeted by 85% in Native American areas and by 69% in predominantly Hispanic precincts.

In Anglo precincts, undervote rates of ballots cast on DREs were about the same level as the rates for paper ballots — 2.22% and 1.75% respectively.

“We were looking for any impact the change to paper ballots may have had on New Mexico’s historically high undervote rate. When we found the dramatic drop in Native American precincts, we were shocked,” said Theron Horton, Project Manager for Election Defense Alliance. “Something was going on with the DREs in those precincts in 2004.”

“When Warren Stewart, Policy Director of VoteTrustUSA, and I did the analysis of New Mexico’s 2004 vote data two years ago, we found high undervote rates in the minority precincts,” said Ellen Theisen, President of Vote-PAD, Inc. and former Executive Director of VotersUnite.Org. “But we didn't do a complete comparison of paper ballot undervotes to the DRE undervotes in that election. When I heard of Theron’s work, I performed the comparison, and found that it’s the paper ballots that made the difference in the minority precincts.”

Read the two-page report here:
https://www.votersunite.org/info/NM_UVbyBallotTypeandEthnicity.pdf

Download the data here:
https://www.votersunite.org/info/2006NMSelectedData.xls

Contacts:

Ellen Theisen
360-437-9922
ellen@vote-pad.us

Theron Horton
505-751-4106
theronhorton@mac.com