Hello fellow political junkies!

The Nov. 5 general election is three months away, with early voting beginning Oct. 9.

To mark the upcoming election, the New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver recognized National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, Aug. 1, by putting out information about how people can become poll workers.

“Poll workers are on the frontlines of our democracy and are essential to our voting process, playing a pivotal role in the success of our elections,” Toulouse Oliver said in a press release. “My office is excited to recognize and participate in National Poll Worker Recruitment Day to help inspire civic engagement by encouraging people to sign up to serve their community. There’s no better way to learn about the voting process and I urge New Mexicans to consider working the polls in their county for the General Election this November.”

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Poll worker responsibilities include, but are not limited to, setting up polling places, greeting voters, verifying voter registrations and issuing ballots. 

Poll workers also help voters understand the voting process by demonstrating the use of voting equipment and explaining voting procedures. 

Local election officials oversee election staff and poll workers, including providing training before Election Day.

To be a poll worker in New Mexico you must be a registered voter in your county, attend training, take an oath of office, not be a candidate, law enforcement officer or close relative of a candidate on the 2024 ballot and have basic computer skills, a cell phone and an email address.

However, teenagers aged 16 and 17 can also be poll workers, the press release said.

Election Day poll workers are compensated up to $400 for the day. County clerks set the poll workers’ wages.

For more information about being a poll worker contact your county clerk directly or fill out the Secretary of State’s Google Form.

As with poll workers, poll observers are also being recruited, including by Observe New Mexico Elections, a nonprofit organization funded through the Carter Center. 

ONME held a press conference July 31 to introduce the program which is a bipartisan initiative aimed at assessing if statutory procedures are being consistently and accurately followed. The organization will also provide comprehensive public information about the quality of the 2024 election in New Mexico, Carter Center Associate Director of Democracy and Peace Program Sarah Cooper said.

“To provide a little bit more background about nonpartisan election observation, this is a crucial element in ensuring the integrity of our elections. Historically, political party representatives and media have provided much of the oversight of elections in the United States; this program proposes to mobilize impartial representatives of the public interest who will be focused on the quality of the process and not any particular election outcome,” Cooper said.

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Meanwhile on the Hill

U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján, D-New Mexico, and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, both members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, held a panel on digital election disinformation in non-English languages. 

Luján’s X account live streamed the panel Wednesday.

The Senators and panelists discussed the impacts of election falsehoods in non-English languages, the risks this poses to the integrity of the 2024 election, and the steps needed to mitigate these threats to our Democracy. 

The panel included Jessica González, CEO of Free Press, Mekela Panditharatne, Senior Counsel of Elections and Government at The Brennan Center for Justice, and Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Director from the Center for Technology Innovation at The Brookings Institution and was moderated by Maria Curi of Axios.

“Election disinformation is one of the biggest threats to our free and fair elections and must be fully addressed by social media platforms, lawmakers, and the voters themselves,” Luján said. “A lie can travel the world before the truth can get (its) boots on. Today’s panel on digital election disinformation in all languages, particularly Spanish, highlighted pervasive risks to our elections. The testimony and expertise of today’s panelists underlined the urgent call to ensure the integrity of our democracy in November and all future elections.”

• The all-Democratic New Mexico congressional delegation welcomed nearly $3 million to promote airport safety from Federal Aviation Administration grants which will fund airfield, safety, and other improvement projects at nine airports across New Mexico.  
• During a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Luján and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Alaska, spearheaded the committee passage of bipartisan legislation to advance the reauthorization of the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support Act (Autism CARES). Autism CARES is the main source of federal funding for autism research, services, training, and monitoring.
• Luján, who serves as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband, applauded the passage of an additional $7.0 billion for the Affordable Connectivity Program and $3.08 billion for Rip-and-Replace in a mark-up on Aug. 1 in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee meeting. 
• U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, Founder and Co-Chair of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, announced bipartisan passage of his Creating Resources for Every American To Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act (CREATE AI Act) out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The legislation now heads to the Senate Floor for consideration. The CREATE AI Act establishes the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource as a shared national research infrastructure that provides AI researchers and students with greater access to the computational resources, data, and tools needed to develop safe and trustworthy artificial intelligence. 
• Heinrich also recently locked in $2.46 million in federal funding for law enforcement in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County to solve and tackle crime as part of the Senate Appropriations process. The investments, included in the FY25 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee last week, contain: $1,050,000 for the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office for equipment and staffing for forensic analysis and crime scene reconstruction; $908,000 for the Albuquerque Police Department to purchase forensic analysis equipment for the Forensic Science Center and $500,000 for the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office to establish a Violence Intervention Program. “I fought for these investments in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County to help law enforcement hold dangerous criminals accountable, deliver justice and support for survivors, and make would-be criminals think twice before hurting their communities,” Heinrich said. “A safer New Mexico depends on ensuring that crimes are solved and survivors are supported, and I’m committed to delivering the resources we need for both.” He also included language directing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to explore ways to expand access to the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network for state and local agencies in the southwest border region. 
• On July 30, U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández, D-New Mexico, was among the representatives who introduced the Campus Prevention and Recovery Services for Students Act to help higher education institutions implement programs to prevent alcohol and substance misuse on campus and support those with substance use disorders. If passed, the bill would fund college prevention and recovery services at $75 million over five years. The bill is part of the Roadmap to College Student Success, House Democrats’ campaign to reform America’s higher education system for students and families.

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