Former inmates file suit against New Mexico over voting rights

By Faith Egbuonu

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    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — ‘Millions for prisoners New Mexico’ filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, the New Mexico Corrections Department and the office of the Bernalillo County Clerk. The 42-page lawsuit alleges all three departments are in violation of their constitutional right to vote. The grassroots organization includes New Mexicans with past felonies as well as others advocating on their behalf to restore voting rights and to ensure they can vote in the 2024 November election.

KOAT spoke with Selinda Guerrero with ‘Millions for Prisoners New Mexico’ on why they claim it’s an ongoing critical issue unresolved. KOAT legal expert John Day weighs in on the lawsuit. KOAT also reached out to the Secretary of State’s Office, the New Mexico Corrections Department and the office of the Bernalillo County Clerk regarding the lawsuit. The office of the Bernalillo County Clerk told KOAT they are currently reviewing the lawsuit and cannot further comment. Their statements are below.

“The plaintiffs are saying, ‘Look, there are a number of people who should be allowed to vote, but they’re facing roadblocks from county clerks, Secretary of state’s Cffice. They’re using outdated information from the corrections department. So, some of them have been turned away or rejected when they try to vote, claiming that even though the law changed and they’re no longer incarcerated, they’re not being allowed to register,” Day said.

“It was just six years ago, on this day, I had a standoff in the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office with somebody who should have been eligible to vote and had been denied four times. So, even under the old law, people were being disenfranchised,” Guerrero told KOAT.

“Since the law has been in effect, we’ve been flagging to the secretary of state, to the clerk’s offices, that there are these ongoing issues people are receiving denial letters who we’ve registered to vote, who have gone through the online portal, and they’re still being denied access to the ballot. They’re getting denial letters even though they’re not incarcerated. So, something is critically wrong with the system and the way that it’s functioning,” Guerrero said.

New Mexico Secretary of State statement

“Secretary Toulouse Oliver has long been committed to making sure every New Mexican who is eligible has the opportunity to register to vote in accordance with state statute and federal law. Our Office worked closely with the Motor Vehicle Division and the New Mexico Department of Corrections after the enactment of the Voting Rights Act in 2023 to ensure eligible voters exiting correctional facilities had access to the voter registration process as soon as possible. When we receive data from state agencies that a person is no longer incarcerated, that individual may register to vote.

Certainly, if a person is no longer incarcerated and appears in-person at a County Clerk’s Office, polling location, certain state agencies, or the motor vehicle division, that person is now legally presumed to meet the requirement of not being incarcerated and can register to vote. As of the end of September 2024, hundreds of voters have been registered or updated their registration during the reentry phase of their sentence at correctional facilities across the state pursuant to state law. Earlier this month, after being made aware of the Campaign Legal Center’s concerns, our Office’s leadership began working with the Campaign Legal Center to address them. Unfortunately, despite our good faith efforts, the Center proceeded with its filing before some of the agreed upon measures had taken place.” —Communications Director Alex Curtas

New Mexico Corrections Department statement

“While the New Mexico Corrections Department cannot provide specific comments on ongoing litigation, we do work closely with the Office of the Secretary of State, and we will continue to do so to ensure that all eligible individuals are able to register seamlessly.” — Britany Roembach, NMCD Public Information Officer.

‘Millions for Prisoners, New Mexico’ statement

“We seek to unite activists, advocates, prisoners, ex-prisoners, their family and friends, as well as all others committed to the fight to drastically reduce or eliminate prisons and the prison system and replace them with more humane and effective systems. Our aim is to expose the prison industrial complex for the human rights violation that it truly is. We want to challenge the idea that caging and controlling people keeps communities safe. We believe that for too long our nation has relied upon incarceration as a way to solve broader social problems, to its detriment. In August of 2017, we will march on Washington to bring world attention to the continued slavery and involuntary servitude in America, Enabled by the 13th amendment and to highlight the ever increasing movement against the prison industrial complex.

This lawsuit is not about placing blame on our allies or elected officials; it’s about accountability to our community. This legal action reflects the wishes of my community who deserve the ability to hold elected officials to the same standards they hold us.

Meanwhile, elected officials continue to hold power because the very people they harm don’t see the point in voting or cannot participate in democracy because those in power are more interested in legislative wins, than actual implementation of our rights.

We are here to ensure that our community’s voice is heard and respected, and to demand that those in power uphold their responsibilities to all of us—not just the few who can afford to play their game.

Emotional disenfranchisement is real, and it’s something that many of us who have been impacted by state violence and incarceration experience deeply. When the system has repeatedly failed us, it’s easy to feel like our voices don’t matter. We hear the same messages all the time: “It doesn’t change anything,” “It doesn’t matter,” “The system wasn’t meant for me.” These feelings are valid, especially when elected officials make decisions that harm our communities or when they avoid taking a stand for our dignity and justice.

But emotional disenfranchisement is also a tool of white supremacy, designed to silence us, strip our political power, and keep us subordinate. By suppressing our voices, the state ensures that we aren’t part of the decisions that shape our futures. They profit off our pain, as the Prison Industrial Complex exploits our families and communities financially and emotionally. Meanwhile, elected officials continue to hold power because the very people they harm don’t see the point in voting or cannot participate in democracy.

When we witness state violence in our neighborhoods, like when 15-year-old Brett Rosenau died in a house set on fire by police, without accountability or consequences, or Vicente Villela who was brutally murdered at MDC calling out “I can’t breathe” ~~ also without accountability or consequences. These experiences by our community reinforces the idea that our voices don’t matter. The system wants us to believe that, but it’s not true. In fact, the extreme efforts to suppress certain votes, from felon disenfranchisement rooted in Jim Crow to the stripping of Black and Indigenous history from schools, show just how much our voices do matter. If voting didn’t matter, why would they go to such lengths to keep us out?

It’s understandable to feel disillusioned and disengaged from a system that seems to work against us. But instead of letting emotional disenfranchisement win, think about those who have lost the right to vote entirely. People who are incarcerated, silenced, and counted out of their communities through practices like prison gerrymandering. If you’re not interested in voting for yourself, consider voting in honor of those who can’t.

Who or what would you vote in honor of? A loved one behind bars, a young person like Brett Rosenau, or future generations who deserve a system that values their lives and voices? Your vote is a form of resistance—a way to speak up for the ones who have been silenced.”

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