SOS Maggie Toulouse Oliver

STATE News:

SANTA FE — Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver released the following statement following the filibuster by Senate Republicans Thursday that prevented the body from finishing their debate on House Bill 229 (Election Laws Cleanup) from the previous evening, effectively killing the bill in the final moments of the legislative session:

“It’s highly disappointing to see partisan disinformation and maneuvering kill this important election cleanup bill that was supported by election administrators across the state. The Senators that chose to delay and filibuster in the last hours of the legislative session instead of finishing their debate and voting on HB229 chose to ignore the will of New Mexico’s election administrators and the needs they have expressed in order to successfully administer New Mexico’s elections.

“HB229 was filled with minor updates, changes, and clarifications to the existing Election Code, yet Senate Republicans, in the run up to their filibuster, made false claims about its impact and attempted to fill the bill with partisan amendments that would have put up roadblocks to ballot access and made our elections less secure. I am not done fighting for these important policies. I will continue to advocate for the fair administration of our elections and make sure every vote cast by a qualified voter in New Mexico is counted.”