Democracy for New Mexico

Local Women Leaders to Back Griego for ABQ Mayor

Media Advisory from the Campaign for Councilor Eric Griego for Mayor of Albuquerque:

Who:
Patricia Montoya, Former State Secretary of Health
Deanna Archuleta-Loeser, Bernalillo County Commissioner
Debbie O'Malley, Albuquerque City Councilor
Melinda Rand-Kenefic, Owner, Celebro Natural Fiber Clothing
Laura Harris, Executive Director of Americans for Indian Opportunity

And more than 30 other women leaders and supporters of Eric Griego’s mayoral campaign.

Where: Centro de Amor Head Start Center (Barelas, 309 Stover SW)

When: Monday, February 21, 3:30 PM

What: Press conference

Why:  To show Councilor Griego’s strong support from the women’s community and to highlight his record of working on issues of importance to Albuquerque women.

Tune In Tonight

The KNME/PBS show "In Focus" will feature Sonja Elison of NM Democratic Friends discussing Governor Bill Richardson's proposed election reform bill with State Representative Danice Picraux and Amanda Cooper from the Governor's office, with Kate Nelson moderating. The show will air at 8:30 PM tonight (Friday), with a repeat showing on Sunday at 8:30 AM.

We're also pleased to note that Tony DellaFlora of the I'm Blue website will be stepping in to produce "In Focus" for several months, starting tonight. Break a leg, folks!

And be sure to email or call your legislators and Governor Bill Richardson to support SENATE BILL 1065, the election reform bill introduced by Senator Cisco McSorley, which Sonja helped draft. This wide-ranging bill includes the clearest and most precise definition of Voter Verified Paper Ballots, which represent the most effective way to assure the accuracy of our votes. Click here to read and follow the bill. You can find your legislators here.

Breaking News - Election Reform

From Mother Media:
United Voters of New Mexico and coalition will hold a Press Conference on Election Reform at the Capitol Building in Santa Fe, Wednesday, February 23rd, beginning at 10 AM. Speakers will emphasize the importance of mandating Voter Verified Paper Ballots (VVPB) and other reforms during this legislative session. Details below under the "Events" heading. Be there if Democracy matters to you.

Governor Bill Richardson's election reform bill is now available in draft form. Pick up a copy at his office on the 4th floor of the Capitol Building. While deftly negotiating the contentious voter ID issue and thankfully including provisions for a paper trail (Section 32), that paper trail is not explicitly *voter verifiable*. Therefore there is no way to guarantee that a machine has recorded and totaled the vote as indicated on the paper trail. Voters will not even get to see their paper trail before casting their vote. The exact language of the bill is as follows: "As used in this section, 'auditable paper trail' means a record that may be used by the state or its contractor to check either the veracity of a machine count or the count itself."

Action: Call the Governor at (505) 476-2200 and ask to speak with someone regarding his election reform bill. Indicate that you are pleased he has included paper audit trails in his bill, but politely insist that the paper trail be an official Voter Verifiable Paper Ballot (VVPB) for recount purposes, as provided for in Mary Helen Garcia's bill, HB1026 [details below]. Cite Nevada as a state which already uses this system and even performs *random sample audits* to make sure that the paper totals and the machine totals match. You can even indicate that there are perhaps five NASED (National Association of State Election Directors) certified HAVA compliant VVPB machines to choose from, including the one used in Nevada (Sequoia AVC Edge). Details on Nevada at bottom. Here are some possible machine options to suggest:

Populex  NASED #N-2-15-22-22-001
Sequoia AVC  EDGE with Veri-vote printer NASED # N-1-07-11-006
Avante, Vote Trakker2, NASED certification #0114-4.4.3
Accupol, NASED certification # N-2-13-11-11-001
TrueVote, NASED certification #N04005000100

Finally, note the following resolution, which was passed by the Democratic Central Committee of New Mexico on April 24, 2004:

Resolution:
      WHEREAS Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines of various kinds have been shown to be capable of producing unreliable, unverifiable results,
      WHEREAS DRE voting systems with voter-verifiable, printed ballots will be available in the next year,
      WHEREAS it would be a waste of funds to buy new systems now,
      BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party insist that no new DRE voting machines be purchased until DRE voting systems are available with
voter-verifiable, printed ballots.
      BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party insist that any new DRE voting machines purchased in the future use voter-verifiable, printed ballots.

Eli Lee of Soltari Inc. a strategic consulting firm has been working closely with the Governor on this bill. A respectful and constructive word with him might be effective:  505.842.5539
-------------------------
Representative Mary Helen Garcia Introduces HB 1026 - "Requiring the Use of Voter Verifiable Paper Ballots."

In response to the community's efforts in the House Voter and Elections Committee, and in particular the perseverance and dedication of Stephen Fettig of Los Alamos, Vice-Chairperson of the House Voter and Elections Committee Rep. Mary Helen Garcia has taken the lead on this crucial issue. Her bill not only provides for voter verifiable paper ballots, but it allows the Secretary of State to certify VVPB machines for use in the state even if they do not submit an application to be certified, as they now must do. This significantly increases the Secretary of State's ability to provide New Mexico with machines that address the critical VVPB issue. Thanks to all involved. The special "emergency clause" in this bill mandates the law come into effect immediately on passage, allowing the Secretary of State to act prior to her June 2005 deadline for in state VVPB HAVA machine certification. Please support Mary Helen Garcia (986-4435) and her Senate co-sponsor James G. Taylor (986-4862). Track the bill's progress (HB 1026] at https://legis.state.nm.us .

Unconfirmed reports from the Senate Rules Committee hearing indicate that Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino and his aide Harry Pavlides (sp) may have amended the VVPB provision in their bill, SB 718 to use the language developed by Mary Helen Garcia and Stephen Fettig in HB 1026.

Gerald and Harry have led the way on this issue in the Legislature and we warmly thank them for their groundbreaking efforts and willingness to incorporate the community's input.

**** Events:

Press Conference - United Voters of New Mexico and coalition - Wednesday, February 23rd, Santa Fe Capitol Building (Roundhouse) Rotunda.

10AM - Lawsuit on behalf of NM Citizens to prohibit any further purchase of non voter-verifiable paper ballot machines.

11AM - Election Reform Day. Focus on Voter Verifiable Paper Ballot (VVPB), automatic recounts, open-source computer code, same-day voter registration, instant run-off voting and making Election Day a state holiday.

Mother Media
leland@33o.com
604 1/2 Galisteo Street
Santa Fe, NM  87505
505.982.3609

URGENT ACTION REQUEST ON NM ELECTION REFORM BILLS

CONTACT THE GOVERNOR AND YOUR LEGISLATORS NOW ON ELECTION REFORM:

Janet Resnick, Terry Riley and others from DFNM and NM Democratic Friends were at the NM Legislature yesterday pushing election reform measures. Both the Republican voter ID bill and Sen. Ortiz y Pino's election reform bill were tabled at the Senate Rules Committee. Meanwhile, Sen. Cisco McSorley will be introducing an election reform bill that Sonja Elison, Clo Barnaby and other voting reform advocates helped draft.

Governor Richardson held a press conference yesterday laying out what measures for election reform he intends to push via legislation introduced by Democrats. It was learned that Senate and House leadership will craft a bill using Richardson's proposals, along with parts of other election reform bills.

This process will be occurring today and tomorrow so it is imperative that we contact the Governor and our Legislators NOW to request the following be passed THIS SESSION:

1. Voting machines that produce VOTER VERIFIABLE PAPER BALLOTS. Using other types of auditable systems is not enough.
2. A quality assurance system that includes a required manual handcount in every precinct of a random 10 percent of the ballots, to see if they match the count being produced by the machines. If not, an automatic recount would be triggered. 
3. We need adequate funds allocated to county clerks to purchase new machines before the 2006 election.
4. These requirements and others are spelled out clearly in the election reform bill that will be introduced by Senator Cisco McSorley, which we support.

You can email Governor Richardson here:

https://www.governor.state.nm.us/emailconfirm.php?mm=6

You can find your legislators in the House and Senate here:

https://legis.state.nm.us/lcs/legislatorsearch.asp

Our folks at the Legislature yesterday had productive interactions in the Senate Rules Committee, with legislative analysts, at the press conference held by Governor Richardson where Ramon was present (with a sign), and during a conversation Terry had with the Governor in the hall. We have good reason to believe that we can achieve many of our goals concerning election reform IF we continue to keep the pressure on.

Some of our folks will be up at the Legislature again today distributing information about what we want in terms of election reform, and we must back them up via this email effort.

Here are links to front and back of the document they will be passing out, which was designed by Terry Riley. You can download them and pass them along to interested parties.

Thanks for you help!

NM Super DOMA Bill Defeated!

From Equality New Mexico:
We did it!  Last night, the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee tabled House Bill 445, effectively killing the bill. Thanks to all of you who testified, wrote letters, called, and emailed.  We couldn't have done it without you!  Please take a few minutes to thank Gail Beam, Irvin Harrison, Joni Gutierrez, and Al Park!

Representative Gail Beam: 505/986-4844, gail.beam@nmlegis.gov
Representative Irvin Harrison, 505/986-4464, irv4u@cnetco.com
Representative Joni Guttierez, 505/986-4234, jonig@zianet.com
Representative Al Park , 505/986-4234

Now on to Senate Bill 597!  "Simple" DOMAs still discriminate!  Please click https://EqNM.org/oppose_DOMA.htm  to write letters to your legislators and ask them to oppose SB 597!  You will need your zip + 4 for us to identify your legislators.  If you don't know yours there is a simple tool on our letter writing page to look it up.

And consider making a contribution to support this important work. Click here to make a contribution to EQNM, and thanks again for all your help.  You made this victory possible!!!

(Editor's Note: You can read about how damaging Rep. Gloria Vaughn's bill was in an earlier post on DFNM.)

Report Finds Drilling Valle Vidal a Bust for Local Economies

Taos, New Mexico – A report released today by the Coalition for the Valle Vidal confirms drilling the Valle Vidal will undermine Colfax County’s local economy. The group is calling on New Mexico’s congressional leaders to move quickly to permanently protect the area and remove the threat of Forest Service leasing.

“The Valle Vidal makes Colfax County unique and it’s a critical piece of our economic equation,” said Colfax County Commissioner, James Marchetti.  “Drilling it is shortsighted, it destroys the very reason why our children want to stay here and others want to relocate, retire and visit here.”

The report, “Local Economic Impacts of Gas Development in Valle Vidal, New Mexico,” reviews economic trends in Colfax and Las Animas (Colorado) counties and the projected level of gas development for the Valle Vidal based on a recent Carson National Forest document (RFDS).  The report finds growing economic sectors in Colfax County include service, retirement and recreation activities.  Additionally, gas development on the Valle Vidal will bring insignificant jobs or revenues to the area, while simultaneously threatening existing, robust sectors.

Other key findings are:
• Drilling the Valle Vidal will be a net economic loss for the communities of northern New Mexico.  Recreation on the Valle Vidal currently generates anywhere from $2-5 million dollars to local economies.  Income generated from coalbed methane (CBM) drilling will not offset that loss.

• Job creation from drilling the Valle Vidal will add less than one percent to area employment figures, if that.  Further, many recreation-based jobs could be lost.

• Most of these jobs will not be available to local residents due to the specialized workers upon which the oil and gas industry typically relies.

• Any revenues generated to local governments will be offset by the burden that the oil and gas industry brings to county roads, fire and other emergency responders, and other services.

• Past job losses in Colfax County resulting from the end of mineral extraction activities do not correlate with declines in employment in other sectors of Colfax County’s economy.

Area Chamber of Commerce organizations and public officials from both Colfax and Taos areas agree that the report’s finding reflect critical community realities.  Tracy Boyce, former president of Cimarron Chamber of Commerce and local business owner, says “ The Valle Vidal brings millions every year into our economies.  That money is coming from wildlife watching, hunting, fishing, horseback riding and camping.  All of these people spend money on the way to and from the Valle Vidal.  We can’t afford to lose that.”

Don Francisco Trujillo II, Taos County Commissioner and Chairman of the Intergovernmental Council of the Enchanted Circle in northern New Mexico, says that Taos does not have anything to gain and has everything to lose from the drilling.  "I come from a long standing, time honored family whose love for the land runs deep in our roots and flows through our veins.  Our protected public lands are our lifeline to a sustainable future.  More and more we are seeing that communities that protect their public lands are benefiting economically."

The Coalition for the Valle Vidal and others are increasingly insisting that these types of debates are not stark, limited choices between jobs and the environment.  Referring to a recent comprehensive study by the nonprofit Sonoran Institute, Jim O’Donnell says, “You destroy the environment you lose your jobs.  Period.  Sound economic studies of rural western communities are showing time and again that protecting public lands create thriving and sustainable rural communities.  Today’s findings show that the same is true for Colfax and Taos counties.”

The report was submitted today to the Carson National Forest along with management comments and aspirations by the Coalition for the Valle Vidal. 

The report, summary and related materials are available at:
www.vallevidal.org/about.html.

Coalition for the Valle Vidal
P.O. Box 238    
Taos, New Mexico 87571
505.758.3874 phone | 505.758.7345 fax

(Editor's Note: Here's a map of the Valle Vidal that demonstrates the negative effects of drilling on the pristine area.)

Check Out NM Election Reform Coalition

Introduction
United Voters of New Mexico is a new coalition of groups working on election reform in New Mexico. We are bringing together all of the organizations that are working for fair, accurate, and transparent elections in New Mexico and giving them a means by which to share information and data.

New Website
You can always get the latest information about what's going on in New Mexico at our website: https://UVoteNM.org. The website is one of the main ways that we are enabling these groups to work together.

Volunteers Needed
We are looking for people to help in a few specific ways:
*Action Updates -- We need someone to collect, collate, and write the Action updates section below. This is not a lot of work, but would make my life MUCH easier.
*We need people who are willing to write press releases and help with press relations. Exactly what this means will depend on your abilities and schedule.

Please email info@UVoteNM.org if your interested in helping.

Updates
There are four main areas that we will keep you up to date on: Action -- how you can get involved, Legislation -- what's going on in the legislature, Voter's Lawsuit -- follow this important legal action, and the Recount -- what's the current situation?

Action
There are many different ways that you can help with this effort from the comfort of your own home.

Right now, consider calling House Speaker Ben Lujan at 986-4782 in Santa Fe during business hours. Ask him to support legislation this session on two topics; (1) require voter-verifiable paper ballots (VVPB) from all voting machines, and (2) stop the Secretary of State from purchasing any new non-VVPB machines. For more details, click here. Check out the Action page on the website for more ways to help.

Legislation
There is so much going on in with election reform in this 60 day session of the New Mexico legislature. The Governor along with several Representatives and Senators are introducing election reform bills.

More than 30 bills have been introduced into the NM House and Senate so far. Those assigned to the House Voting and Elections Committee (HVEC) are being temporarily tabled after an initial hearing so that the committee can review them all at once. The bills are summarized here by topic.  Many have yet to receive an initial hearing.

Voter's Lawsuit
A lawsuit was filed on behalf of 8 New Mexico voters on January 14, 2005. The focus and primary purpose of this action is to put in place a permanent injunction against use of the voting machines that have been linked to the most alarming problems in the 2004 general election. For specific examples of some of these problems, click here.Named in the case as defendants are the Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron and a handful of county clerks. The plaintiffs are eight voters representing three political parties – 6 democrats, 1 green, and 1 libertarian - across multiple counties throughout the state. Since the filing many of these counties have cleared their machines while others have come up with alternatives for dealing with the upcoming school board elections such as utilizing paper ballots or reserving the machines from the most problematic precincts. Whether the machines have been cleared or not, the lawsuit has enough evidence to prove that there are major problems tied to machine type vs. voter type as well as other problems with the  vote count and procedures that are detrimental to fair and accurate elections in New Mexico.

The Recount
Despite rumors to the contrary, the recount effort remains alive in the New Mexico Court of Appeals. The fact that the recount remains active continues to shed light on the problems surrounding the control of the voting process as well as the vote count itself. It is important to remember, that the value of the recount has always been about affecting change for future elections, not just finding out what happened to the last one. As there are a variety of vote count problems that include paper ballot issues, even if many of the counties do clear their paperless voting machines there is still much to discover. Again, for more information on what went wrong with the vote count, taken from public data available from the Secretary of State, click here.

To subscribe to our email updates, send an email from the address that you wish to subscribe to, to update-subscribe@UVoteNM.org.

ROUNDUP: Gay Marriage and Domestic Partnership Bills

In honor of equality day (and Valentine's Day) at the NM Legislature, here's a rundown of so-called "defense of marriage" and domestic partnership bills.

HB445: MARRIAGE DEFINED
Sponsor: Gloria C. Vaughn
Track this bill.

According to Equality New Mexico this is an incredibly bad bill: HB 445 is an Omnibus Discrimination Act

The "Defense of Marriage" bill introduced on January 25, HB 445, is a "Super DOMA" that denies gay and lesbian families benefits, protections, and rights in almost every area of life. Click here to read this bill.

The core of the bill is the proposal that "a marriage between persons of the same sex, or any right or claim arising from their relationship, shall not be valid, binding, or enforceable in New Mexico. This "Super DOMA" does not "protect" marriage: it blatantly discriminating against gay and lesbian families and individuals.

If passed, provisions of the bill would:

Impose a fine on clergy for performing same-sex marriages with valid marriage licenses from states and nations (which violates separation of church and state).

Fine clergy for performing same-sex unions as "a right and claim arising from their relationship" (which violates free exercise of religious practice).

Fine gay and lesbian couples for marrying in other states and nations.

Render illegal entire bodies of sovereign law of other states and nations (e.g. Massachusetts, Vermont, California, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, France, Britain, Germany, Spain).

Make all domestic partnership benefits illegal, even if they are offered by large or small private corporations that use domestic partner benefits to attract skilled workers.

Make unlawful "any right or claim arising from their relationship" (e.g. all legal agreements drawn up by gay and lesbian couples to protect each other and their families; currently in NM these are the only protections available to gay and lesbian families' wills, documents of ownership, and other contracts and agreements).

Define civil contracts as the exclusive domain of heterosexual, married New Mexicans, thereby excluding all gay and lesbian couples from benefits and protections inside or outside marriage.

HB 445 is misleading: before similar "super DOMAs" passed into law in Ohio, Virginia, and Michigan, bill sponsors stated the bill would not be used to interfere with private contracts. Within days of passage, however, bill sponsors began dismantling domestic partnership benefits and other legal contracts. Please contact your state senator or representative to let them know DOMA DISCRIMINATES.

HB 445 will be heard in the House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee and the House Judiciary Committee.
********************

SB576: DOMESTIC PARTNER RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITY ACT
Sponsor: Cisco McSorley
Track this bill.

A terrific bill, SB 576 is a comprehensive, statewide, domestic partnership, benefits bill for unmarried couples, regardless of sexual orientation. This bill will offer many of the rights, benefits, and protections that legally recognized families enjoy today. Click here to read this bill.

SB 576 will be heard in three committees: Senate Public Affairs, Senate Judiciary, and Senate Finance.
********************

SB597: RELATING TO MARRIAGE; PROVIDING FOR CONTEMPLATION OF MARRIAGE AS A CIVIL CONTRACT BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN.
Sponsor: William E. Sharer
Track this bill.

SB 597 is regarded as a “Simple DOMA” and it states, “Marriage is contemplated by the law as a civil contract between a man and a woman for which the content of the contracting parties, capable in law of contracting, is essential.” The Senate has only 42 senators and this bill has 29 co-sponsors of which 11 are democrats. Click here to read this bill.

SB 597 will be heard in two committees: Senate Public Affairs and Senate Judiciary.
********************

HB86: RELATING TO INSURANCE; DEFINING DOMESTIC PARTNER BENEFITS; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.
Sponsor: Mimi Stewart
Track this bill.

HB 86 requires that insurance companies offer domestic partner benefits to any New Mexican employer who requests the benefits. Currently, most large employers usually do not have trouble with domestic partner benefits but smaller employers with fewer employees often are told that the insurance company does not provide that benefit. A similar bill passed the House 2 years ago but died in the Senate due to lack of time. Click here to read this bill.

HB 86 passed the Consumer and Public Affairs Committee and is currently in the House Business & Industry Committee.
********************

SB340: RELATING TO RETIREMENT; AMENDING THE RETIREE HEALTH CARE ACT
Sponsor: John T.L. Grubesic
Track this bill.

SB340 proposes amending the Retiree Health Care Act and was introduced for New Mexico State employees who have retired. In 2003, Governor Bill Richardson signed an executive order creating domestic partnerships for New Mexico State employees, regardless of sexual orientation. The New Mexico State insurance companies are denying benefits to partners of retired state employees. This bill will clarify that domestic partnership benefits apply to retirement. Click here read this bill.

SB 340 will be heard in the Senate Public Affairs Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
********************

Equality New Mexico provides an easy way to contact your legislator regarding Defense of Marriage Act bills. Thanks to EQNM for the descriptions of these bills.

DPBC Third Thursday Meeting Set for 2/17

DFNM members are urged to attend this meeting. We need a large showing to underline our passion for change in the Democratic Party:

From the DPBC e-news:
The Democratic Party of Bernalillo County Third Thursday meeting will be held February 17, 6:00 PM at the UNM Law School, 1117 Stanford NE, Room 2401. Click for map.

Our speaker will be Ellen Leitzer, Co-Executive Director of the Senior Citizens Law Office. Ms. Leitzer recently received the Award for Consumer Health Advocate for 2004 by Families USA. Ms. Leitzer's topic will be, More of the Safety Net Under Attack - Medicaid and Medicare -- What's Next? With the number of uninsured Americans reaching 45 million, an all-time high and growing, and those without health insurance for some period of time in 2003-04 at 85 million, a crisis exists. The proposed cutbacks in the President's budget only worsen the prospects for improvement.

If you are a registered Democrat and would like to be added to the DPBC e-news list, please send your name, email address and County to dpbc@att.net.

ACTION ALERT: Attend Legislative Committee Wednesday Re Election Reform

Contributed by Janet Resnick:

Last Friday, Feb 11,  seven of us representing DFNM and other orgs attended the Senate Rules Committee meeting at the Roundhouse in response to Linda Lopez' invitation at our Meetup to respond to current legislation.

Two bills were being introduced; one by (R) Senator Duran, and the other by (D) Senator Ortiz y Pino -- SB40 and SB718 respectively. SB40 speaks of the requirements of voter ID. SB718 also speaks to this concern, but includes other requirements in the voting process as well. The group expressed its objective of voter verifiable paper ballots as the priority, and not voter ID requirements.

The group also met with several Legislative offices, including Senator Ortiz y Pino, and also with the Governor's office and the Secretary of State's office. We were well received, and we believe that our numbers made an impression.

The discussion on these bills in the Senate Rules Committee was not finished, did not come to a vote, and is scheduled to continue on Wednesday at 8:30 AM. It was recommended by the office of Senator Ortiz y Pino that we attend in numbers on Wednesday to indicate support for this issue. It would also be advisable to read the bills just prior to Wednesday, since Amendments will be introduced. (Check the legislative website, https://legis.state.nm.us.)

WE NEED PEOPLE to carpool this Wednesday. The more the merrier. We will leave ABQ at 6:30 AM to get there in time for the Committee meeting. If you can attend, contact Terryactivist@aol.com. Put "Legislature" in the subject line.