Democracy for New Mexico

A First for NM: Governor Richardson's State of the State Address to be Simulcast on Web

2:00 PM UPDATE: I don't see the video download on the site yet, but here's a link to a pdf of the text version of the State of the State.

Webcast of the State of the State Address
Approximately 12:30 PM to 1:00 PM Start Time
Tuesday, Jan 17th

If you can't make it to Santa Fe to see the Governor's State of the State speech, hit the link below to see the live webcast. This is the first time a State of the State Address will be streamed live. After the speech, you'll be able to download video or audio of the address at the same site.

To access today's address, log onto https://www.governor.state.nm.us and follow the link for the live broadcast.

To track bills or contact your legislator, visit the website of the New Mexico Legislature.

ACTION ALERT: Call the Governor for $7.50

From New Mexicans for a Fair Wage:
Governor Richardson has heard plenty from minimum wage opponents.  He needs to hear from you now, before he gives his State of the State address on Tuesday.

Call the Governor on Martin Luther King Day, this Monday.  His office will be open from 9 to 5.  Call 505-476-2200.  Tell them your name, where you live, and that you want him to support a minimum wage increase to $7.50.

The Governor has to know you care.  He wants to do the right thing, but YOU have to tell him what that is.

Celebrate Dr. King's legacy by calling him Monday and asking 5 friends to do the same.  Forward this information to everyone you know who values a hard day's work.

And be sure to check out our new website at www.nmfairwage.org.

A Message from Paul Stokes

A message from Paul Stokes who is active with Voter Action, Verified Voting NM and United Voters NM:

Dear concerned citizens,

The voters of New Mexico had their most urgent wish granted yesterday when Governor Richardson announced his initiative to to establish a uniform system of paper ballots and optical scan vote counters in the state. The message is resonating across the state, and is spreading across the country.

The Governor made it clear: it was the concerned citizens of New Mexico that catalyzed this initiative. When our elected officials saw the public interest being expressed in the galleries of the legislature and the editorial pages of the newspapers, they knew that the citizenry was concerned and engaged. And they have responded, beginning last spring in the legislature, and now with this initiative.

New Mexico voters want a voting system that is transparent and that can be trusted to count their votes accurately. Paper ballots provide that capability. With paper ballots, voters have a simple and intuitive way to verify that their votes are properly recorded. And the paper ballots will be preserved and used to check on the machine counts of the votes -- or, as necessary, to conduct recounts of close races.

So, a big thank you to everyone who helped make this happen.

Paul

Editor's Note: Paul Stokes has been an incredibly informed and eloquent spokesperson for election reform in NM. He was an enduring presence at almost every single election reform hearing and meeting. A big thank you to him, too!

You're Invited: An ABQ Evening With Rep. Tom Udall

From Dory Shonagon:

AN EVENING WITH
CONGRESSMAN TOM UDALL
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2006
5:30 PM SHARP
At Dory Shonagon's Apt. Complex
Clubhouse at Valle Grande Apts.
8401 Spain Road, Albuquerque. Directions below.

This is a chance for all Bernalillo County progressive Democrats to come and meet a strong, hard working progressive Democrat and elected official. Tom Udall has carried the ball for us for years in Congress as the Representative for Congressional District 3 in Northern New Mexico. You can check his excellent voting record here. Come and hear him speak to us about issues in Congress and get a chance to ask questions of him as well.  All Democrats and independents of good will are welcome.

Martin Heinrich, City Councilor and City Council President, will introduce Congressman Udall.

This event starts promptly at 5:30 PM. Please come on time. Light refreshments will be served.

Directions:

Dory's Shonagon's apartment complex is Valle Grande Apts., 8401 Spain Road at Wyoming in Albuquerque. Event is at the CLUBHOUSE. From Wyoming and Montgomery, go north on Wyoming, past Osuna and the next light is Spain. Right on Spain Rd. Valle Grande is at that intersection. Turn left into the complex. DRIVE STRAIGHT BACK as far as you can go into the complex. At that point you will see the Clubhouse on your right (swimming pool outside, etc). Come on in.

HOST is Dory Shonagon, email:  dshonagon@earthlink.net, 480-1848, if you have questions before the event.

Dory is also hosting this event:

OPENING DAY AT THE NM LEGISLATURE
TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2006
MEET DORY IN SANTA FE AT 9 AM
ROUNDHOUSE INFO BOOTH
We will be taking a tour of the Roundhouse and talking about the process of the legislature, how it works, where to go, how to be a citizen lobbyist, etc. The Governor gives the State of the State address around Noon. Please call if you want a ride up to Santa Fe or can provide a ride to visit the first day of the Legislature.

Agreement Reached On NM Voting Machine Purchase Freeze

From Voter Action:
January 5, 2006 - New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron announced on January 3, 2006, that she will not, for now, proceed with purchase of millions of dollars worth of Sequoia AVC Edge touchscreen voting machines.  She had planned to buy the machines for 14 counties before the end of 2005.  This announcement is good news for New Mexico voters.

Vigil-Giron changed her plans after she was served with a motion for emergency injunctive relief to block the purchase.  The motion was filed in December by the plaintiffs in Patricia Rosas Lopategui, et al. v. Rebecca Vigil-Giron, et al., the year-old state court lawsuit in which eight voters seek a permanent ban on use of the Sequoia AVC Edge and other paperless electronic voting machines in New Mexico.  Prior to the Secretary of State’s announcement, her attorneys and the plaintiffs’ attorneys were in negotiations for a formal agreement to postpone any purchases pending court action. This agreement was reached today.

The Secretary of State has said the reason to buy the Sequoia AVC Edge touchscreen voting machines is to make voting easier for disabled voters, as required by the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA).  In fact, the Edge machines fail to accommodate the disabled or meet HAVA requirements, as shown in a powerful and detailed expert affidavit filed by the plaintiffs.  In addition, the machines lack printers to produce voter verifiable and auditable paper ballots, as required by the New Mexico Election Code, and do not accurately record and count votes, as required by the New Mexico Constitution.  To the contrary, the Sequoia Edge voting system has a record of losing thousands of votes, switching votes, and failing to record votes cast in Spanish.

An alternative and superior voting system that satisfies all of these concerns is not only available but has been chosen by county clerks in a majority of New Mexico’s counties (19 of 33).  The Automark is a device which voters with a broad range of disabilities can use to mark and review their votes on paper optical scan ballots.  The votes on these paper ballots are then counted by optical scanners, just like the votes on the ballots filled out by non-disabled voters.  Fewer voting machines are required in each precinct, and the paper ballots can later be audited to ensure that the count was accurate. Many states across the nation are choosing the Automark as their permanent solution for equal access voting. Concurrently, counties and states are also banning the use of touchscreen voting machines such as the Sequoia Edge which do not provide a paper ballot. 

The plaintiffs applaud the Secretary of State’s decision not to buy Sequoia AVC Edge touchscreen voting machines at this time.  They also recognize, however, that it is not a permanent solution.  The Secretary of State has left open the possibility of going ahead with the Sequoia Edge purchases at a later date if permitted by the court.  The lack of finality is of concern for two reasons.  First, plaintiffs firmly believe that buying and using paperless Sequoia Edge touchscreen voting machines will be bad for New Mexico voters.  Second, the next statewide election is only six months away.  Counties need whatever new machines they acquire to be in place soon, so they can train poll workers in their use. 

The Lopategui plaintiffs and election officials all have the same goal:  elections in which all New Mexico voters, disabled and non-disabled, can vote independently and be confident that their votes are accurately recorded and counted.  The Automark, paired with optical scan paper ballots, is the best solution now available.   The plaintiffs will not accept anything less, nor should the Secretary of State, county elections officials and the voters they serve. All New Mexican voters deserve the most reliable and accurate voting system available.

To see the stipulation, TRO memorandum and related affidavits, visit www.voteraction.org. Voter Action is a project of the International Humanities Center

Editor's Note: There will be a Valentine's Dinner, Dance and Silent Auction to benefit Voter Action on Saturday, February 11th, at the Wool Warehouse in Albuquerque. For more information or to purchase tickets ($35), contact: alcanales@comcast.net or swashbur@nmia.com

Q & A With Patricia Madrid at Next DFA-DFNM Meetup

NM Attorney General Patricia Madrid will be speaking to our group and answering questions at the next DFA-DFNM Meetup on Thursday, January 5th, at 7:00 PM at the First Unitarian Church Social Hall at Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. Click to join our Meetup group or RSVP.

As you surely know by now, Madrid will be challenging Rep. Heather Wilson for the CD1 seat in 2006. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post ranks the competitiveness of this race ninth in the nation and says this will be Heather's "toughest race since she claimed the seat in a 1998 special election."

The 2005 campaign fundraising filing period ends on December 31 and Madrid's campaign would like to see a strong showing to demonstrate that thousands of New Mexicans are willing to step up and support her challenge to the awful policies of Bush and his rubberstamp, Heather Wilson. You can make an online donation right now at her new website.

Heather Wilson is nothing more than an enabler for the radical agenda of the Bush/Cheney/DeLay machine. She voted for them and time and again she votes with them on legislation that puts the interests of wealthy elites ahead of the people. This may be our last and best chance to stop her before she becomes SENATOR Heather Wilson! Let's get involved.

MoveOn is already targeting the race with a tv ad criticizing Wilson's position on the Iraq War. In MoveOn's recent petition campaign demanding an Iraq exit strategy and timeline, Wilson's office was presented with 2500 signatures, the most of any candidate targeted. Her response? According to the Albuquerque Journal, another parroting of the BushCo line: "As the Iraqis stand up, we can stand down." Wilson spokesman Joel Hannahs dismissed MoveOn.org's effort as that of a "left-wing" political group. We know where Wilson stands.

On the other hand, Madrid is advocating establishment of a definite, clear timeline for troop withdrawal that begins bringing our men and women serving in Iraq home by December 2006. She's also taking strong positions on healthcare, prescription drugs, tax policy and government reform. We're excited that we'll have a chance at Meetup to get detailed answers directly from Attorney General Madrid about her views on these and other issues like election reform.

Contribute a few bucks at her website before the end-of-year deadline and then come on down to our Meetup on Thursday, January 5th and take advantage of an excellent opportunity to meet the candidate and find out face-to-face what she stands for. A large attendance will demonstrate that Madrid's early reachout to the progressive community is much appreciated. Hope to see you there.

NM Voters Seek Order Barring Purchase of More Touchscreen Voting Machines

From Voter Action:
Eight New Mexico voters asked District Judge Eugenio Mathis for an emergency order blocking the Secretary of State from spending millions of dollars on Sequoia AVC Edge touchscreen voting machines for use in Bernalillo, Dona Ana, Santa Fe and 11 other counties. The plaintiffs allege that the machines are not accessible by disabled voters and violate a state law requirement for voter verifiable paper trail printers, necessary for meaningful audits and recounts. Plaintiffs also submitted substantial evidence that the Sequoia touchscreen voting systems are inaccurate and unreliable, having lost thousands of votes and switched countless others in recent elections.

The motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction was filed in the case of Patricia Rosas Lopategui, et al. v. Rebecca Vigil-Giron, et al. The case was filed in January of 2005, and seeks a permanent injunction against use in future New Mexico elections of the Sequoia AVC Edge touchscreen and other “direct recording electronic” (DRE) voting machines sold by Election Systems & Software and by Danaher Controls. 

A better solution is readily available. The Secretary of State has certified a superior voting system, the Automark, which was selected over the Sequoia Edge by county clerks in 19 New Mexico counties. The Automark is truly accessible by the disabled, including blind and low vision voters as well as voters with severe dexterity disabilities. (The Sequoia does not make accommodations for voters with dexterity disabilities like Cerebral Palsy.)  The Automark also produces paper ballots, which are counted by an optical scanner, like the ballots of all non-disabled voters. Following elections, these paper ballots are available for audits that are vital to ensuring the integrity of elections. 

The 19 New Mexico county clerks who chose the Automark join a growing national trend away from DRE touchscreen voting machines and toward optical scan paper ballots, with the Automark for disability access. Numerous counties across the country have  gone so far as to abandon recently purchased, problem-plagued touchscreen systems in order to switch to the Automark with optical scan ballots.

Plaintiffs submitted the affidavit of Noel Runyan, an expert on the design of disabled access devices. Mr. Runyan, who is blind, gave this harsh assessment:

In my opinion, the Sequoia AVC Edge DRE does not satisfy the disability access requirements of HAVA, as incorporated into New Mexico law. This opinion is based on (1) the Edge’s complete lack of any accommodation for persons with severe physical dexterity impairments who are unable to use touchscreens or keypads; (2) the gross inadequacy of the Edge’s audio assist feature for persons who are blind or low vision; and (3) the Edge’s failure to accommodate elderly voters who have developed severe visual impairments with age but are unfamiliar with and unable to cope with audio-only access technology because they have had normal vision most of their lives. In short, it is my opinion that a large portion of disabled citizens who attempt to cast their votes on Sequoia AVC Edge voting machines will be unable to do so. 

Voter Action is a project of the International Humanities Center. Click for filings in the Lopategui Lawsuit.

Editor's Note: Remember that the County Clerks of the largest counties in NM who are insisting on buying touchscreens are DEMOCRATS, then read this op ed published on OpEd News: Dear Howard Dean: Why Bother?

Further Investigation Reveals NM Voting Machine Purchase May Violate State Law

From United Voters of New Mexico:

Sequoia Edge Voting Machines Do Not Meet New Federal Standards

Secretary of State Vigil-Giron is set to purchase hundreds of electronic machines that meet 15-year-old standards, but not the current 2002 standards. The machines proposed for purchase, furthermore, don’t produce a paper record of votes as required by state law. Stephen Fettig, a citizen involved in voting issues, says, “Last winter many citizens worked with many legislators to get the state law as it is written. We are asking that the secretary of state purchase only machines that comply with both state and federal law.”

The National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) is the organization that determines when voting machines meeting federal standards. The 17-page list of these machines, dated November 18, 2005 doesn’t list any Sequoia Edge machines as meeting current standards. By “current,” the NASED means standards set in 2002. The list does identify some Sequoia software and firmware that meets the current standards, but no complete Sequoia machines meet the 2002 standards.

Sequoia Edge voting machines have a known history of problems. These machines were the source of vote switching in the 2004 election, where votes were switched from the selected candidate to an opponent. Voting systems using these same machines were responsible for the loss of over 12,000 votes in Bernalillo County, New Mexico in 2002, which may or may not ever have been “recreated” when the vendor took the cartridge back up to it’s headquarter in Denver. These machines also have a history of failing to record Spanish language votes.

“In a state where our Hispanic population is so important to our democratic process, we need to insure that the votes of our Spanish language voters are counted as accurately as English language votes. Having seen these problems, one wonders what else will happen," says Paul Stokes of United Voters of New Mexico.

With the known problems with vote switching, lost votes, and unrecorded Spanish votes, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) added its opinion in a September 2005 report. The GAO report said there were design flaws, poor security, and inadequate testing of electronic voting machines such as Sequoia Edge and others. The report groups all these machines as “DREs” because they are “direct recording electronic” machines and says concerns that they lose or miscount votes have merit.

A week ago, citizen groups from around the state asked Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera and Santa Fe County Clerk Valerie Espinoza to select the AutoMark voting system which is currently certified at both the state and federal levels.  Instead, Herrera and Espinoza asked Secretary of State Vigil-Giron to buy some 800 Sequoia Edge machines that are not certified to current federal standards and are in potential violation of state law because they don’t produce a paper record of votes.

What’s driving this seemingly unwise and potentially unlawful action by the Secretary of State - an action that could waste millions of dollars of taxpayers money? We don't know.

For more information contact United Voters of New Mexico by calling Paul Stokes at 505-898-1237 or Stephen Fettig at 505-662-6785.

Like a Virgin

So, if Governor Richardson's plea to the NM Legislature for $100 million in starter money is approved, you and I will be building a spiffy new "spaceport" just south of Truth or Consequences, the community named for a popular 1950s TV show. Other local and federal tax receipts will be sought to cover the rest of the $225 million price tag for public financing, including a proposed gross receipts tax increase for Southern New Mexico. Virgin Galactic, zoom zoom! Space rides for rich people at $200,000 a pop!

What a deal. The people who benefit most from BushCo's tax cuts can use the tax dollars they didn't pay to buy tickets to the stratosphere. Most of the costs of this super ride facility will be covered by those unfortunate enough to still be paying significant taxes -- namely, those who work for a living rather than invest for living.

Ah, to be one of those wealthy, elite figures who focus so relentlessly on figuring out ways to lessen their own taxes so that others lower on the financial scale can pay them AND pay for their capitalistic, futuristic, profit-making schemes! Does it get any better than this? Make the public pay the project investment costs while the billionaire developers reap the profits. Slick.

Ah, you say, what about all those high-paying jobs that will be created in the process? According to Information Week:

Experts predict the project will bring into New Mexico thousands of jobs in technology and construction and hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment during the next 20 years as the private sector develops new commercial markets in the space industry.

A study by Futron, an aerospace industry consulting firm, reveals the annual economic impact of the spaceport in 2020 could exceed more than $750 million in revenue and more than 3,500 jobs for manufacturing, research and development, transportation services and tourism.

Maybe. It's certainly a nice thought. But if this is such a great idea, why can't the private sector make the investment in infrastructure on its own? Why do they need "encouragement" from taxpayers in one of the poorest states in the nation?

I admit the pioneering part of me that was thrilled by President Kennedy's race to the moon and the Hubble telescope can still be seduced by the excitement of outer space exploration. But space rides for rich people? Hard to get behind that pricey concept when pesky facts like the growing number of New Mexicans without health insurance keep rising to the surface. Whatever happened to first things first? Bottom line: it's a matter of priorities. Shouldn't Democrats be pushing harder to mitigate the festering problems of economic and social injustice before they start bankrolling the iffy projects of billionaires?

Maybe the Governor is right. Maybe this will be the start of something that will bring incredible opportunities and thousands of good-paying jobs to New Mexico. As we know, Governor Richardson thinks big, and often that's what's needed to get things moving in a state like New Mexico. And there is a certain logic to adding space rides to the balloon rides we're so famous for. Given the nasty behavior of way too many private sector operators, however, I can't help being a little cynical about all this. What about you?

Report: Yesterday's Election Reform Task Force Meeting

Editor's Note: The last Election Reform Task Force meeting before January's NM Legislative Session was held yesterday at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. As I'm sure you'll recall, voters interested in this issue were urged to attend to emphasize that there is widespread support for following through on much needed reforms in how we vote and how our votes are counted. Here's a first-hand report from someone who has attended every meeting of the Task Force since its inception, including yesterday's session. In addition, you can read an article on the meeting from today's Santa Fe New Mexican .

From Terry Riley:
How did it go?  I put out the call asking people to come with us to attend the final session of the Election Reform Task Force.  I offer this synopsis for those who were not able to make it.  I would also like to point out, since some people made some comments, that committee actions are not black and white and nothing moves quickly.  What you saw as an occasional observer may have looked frustrating.  This is what I saw.

The Task Force has a first draft of a bill that they are going to push through the legislature in this session.  The task force has asked all of the county clerks to submit realistic funding requirements so the legislature can ask for an appropriate amount of money to make this work!  The Task Force has committed to operate again after this legislative session.  This will ensure that more changes and improvements will be made. 

One of the most significant things that happened was the presentation by the attorney for the Attorney General.  He stated that the Attorney General was expecting to be able to vote on paper trail/ballot machines in this upcoming election and that presently that will not happen.  That is the right kind of pressure at the right time.  We also got committments from representative Mary Hellen Garcia from Otero County and Senator Ortiz Y Pino from Bernalillo County to introduce legislation requiring paper ballot machines in all of New Mexico.

We had more than 50 people attend the beginning of the session and that was noted by the Task Force co-chairs.  Though we were asked to not applaud the effect was just what we wanted and was duely noted.  This was a great event.

Thank you to everybody who came.  We are changing politics in New Mexico and planting the seed for change on the national level.  Count my vote - as I voted!