New Mexico Lawsuit Moves Forward

[Wilms]

New Mexico Lawsuit Moves Forward

By Warren Stewart, director of Legislative Issues and Policy, VoteTrustUSA

January 19, 2006

Plaintiffs in the Lopategui lawsuit seeking to bar the state of New Mexico from using Sequoia Edge touchscreen machines scored a significant victory yesterday. District Judge Eugenio Mathis denied a motion for summary judgment from the Secretary of State’s Office that sought to dismiss the complaint brought by a dozen individual New Mexico voters, Voter Action New Mexico and the Progressive Alliance for Community Empowerment.

The Santa Fe New Mexican quoted John Boyd, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs explaining that “it means we will have the chance to prove that those machines are unreliable, and we believe we can do that”.

Mathis granted twin motions to dismiss filed by attorneys representing county clerks in Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera and nearly a dozen others. In granting those motions, the judge stipulated that counties are bound by any actions that may be taken regarding the secretary of state, who oversees elections in New Mexico. This ruling is more complex, but just as positive according to the lawyers for the plaintiffs. In ruling in favor of the county clerks’ request he has shifted the responsibility entirely to Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron.

At a press conference last week, Governor Bill Richardson called on the state legislature to mandate a uniform paper based optical scan voting system statewide. Vigil-Giron reportedly supports this move by Richardson, and her State Election Director Ernest Marquez, who represented her at the press conference, said that if the legislature moves quickly, such a system could be in place in time for the November elections.

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http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=793&Itemid=113

[neoblues]

1. Electronic voting problems in foreign countries?

Just kidding, but you'd be surprised how many Americans, particularly of the younger generations, doesn't know New Mexico is a U.S. Territory! Egad, I did it again! It's actually one of the 50 states!

Sadly, they've suffered significant voter disenfranchisement and also appear to be struggling with the ubiquitous infection of electronic voting systems. In 2004, the state missed going Democratic by a hair... and but for the fraud, they would have. It's a small state (in terms of population), but every electoral vote counts! So we should support the people over there in "The Land of Enchantment", Neuvo Mexico.

Not just there though, we've got to fight the Republican efforts to defraud our Electoral System as they exist in every state in the union; they've succeeded in overriding the will of the people in two Presidential elections and countless Congressional and State office races already. They must be stopped--if it means going back to paper ballots everywhere. (I was singularly unimpressed with the electronic voting machines in my district--the machines themselves, the screens, everything about it was clumsy and awkward--something that just isn't the case with a quality paper ballot, and besides being inexpensive, they can be recounted!).

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