ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. AP— A lawsuit claims that some New Mexico residents with felony convictions have been wrongly denied access to the ballot, despite a law reinstating their voting rights last year.
The law, which took effect in July 2023, restored voting rights to approximately 11,000 individuals in New Mexico who have completed their prison sentences for felony offenses. It allows those who have been released from custody, including individuals on probation or parole, to vote.
However, the lawsuit, filed last week in Santa Fe by Millions For Prisoners—an advocacy group for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals—alleges that some applicants have received rejection letters from county clerks. These rejections are based on inaccurate or outdated information from the secretary of state’s office and the New Mexico Corrections Department, according to the Albuquerque Journal. The suit names Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and the corrections department as defendants.
Alex Curtas, a spokesperson for Toulouse Oliver, stated that the secretary of state’s office is dedicated to ensuring ballot access for every eligible voter. He noted that hundreds of people have successfully registered to vote since their release from prison as of last month.
A spokesperson for the corrections department declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
The lawsuit also claims that Toulouse Oliver and at least one county clerk have imposed an extra barrier to voting by requiring in-person registration for those whose applications were denied.
Curtas explained that if a person is no longer incarcerated and appears in person at a County Clerk’s Office, a polling location, certain state agencies, or the motor vehicle division, they should be legally presumed eligible to register to vote.
The lawsuit seeks a court order to prevent election officials from enforcing the in-person registration requirement for voters with felony convictions. Additionally, it requests that Toulouse Oliver direct all county clerks to process the voter registration forms that have been rejected since the law’s enactment on July 1, 2023.