TRANSCRIPT:
Jonny Coker, KRWG Reporter: Just to start off, for folks that don't know about your organization, what is Common Cause New Mexico and what role will y'all be playing in the upcoming election?
Molly Swank, Executive Director of Common Cause New Mexico: Yes, thank you. So Common Cause New Mexico is the state's largest democracy advocacy organization. We're a nonpartisan organization that really looks at good government issues. So we do voting rights work, election protection work, government accountability and transparency. We do a lot of work around campaign finance and just tracing money in politics. But right now, our biggest program is our election protection program, where we're making sure our biggest goal with election protection is making sure that anybody who wants to vote during this election season is able to so without barriers or issues.
Jonny Coker: And I know you have, with the ACLU, a hotline that will work to resolve voter issues in real time. So can you share examples of how that will work and how that will help individuals vote and deal with [voter] issues?
Molly Swank: Yes. So the hotline number that you mentioned, it's 866-OUR-VOTE or (866)-687-8683, and we have it in multiple languages. For Spanish, it's 888-VE-Y-VOTA or (888)-839-8682. That hotline is staffed by volunteer lawyers and they have all of our election law in front of them. So if anybody has any questions, they can call up this number and our volunteers will either escalated up if there's an issue that needs to be escalated to county clerks, or the secretary of state's office.
Otherwise, we are just there to answer questions and make sure that people have the information they need to vote. We will also have volunteers that will be outside of polling locations to answer voter questions. So if someone, you know, shows up at a polling location and isn't sure what they need to do … Our volunteers outside of polling locations will also be available to answer those questions.
Our volunteers are also going to be looking for any barriers that or obstacles that folks are facing. So are there really long lines at a polling location? Are the machines working okay? Is anybody blocking the entrance to the polling location? Is there electioneering happening in a space where there shouldn't be electioneering happening? Our volunteers are really our eyes and ears on the ground during Election Day.
Jonny Coker: How are you addressing potential misinformation that could mislead voters or confuse voters regarding their rights at polling locations?
Molly Swank: We are trying to do as much outreach as possible about voting rights and folks rights when they show up to the polling locations. So you can follow our social media. We're on Facebook and Instagram and X formerly known as Twitter. And we're trying to put out as much accurate information as possible. We are also working in partnership with other community based organizations to do education.
We work very closely with the Secretary of State's office and county clerks to make sure that we're all, you know, spreading the word as far as we can when it comes to voting rights.
Jonny Coker: There's a new state law that prohibits firearms within a certain distance from polling places and drop boxes. So I just wanted to ask, have you encountered or do you anticipate any challenges in enforcement of that rule or in dealing with that?
Molly Swank: So, yeah, that's a brand new law as of this year that guns are not to be carried into polling locations or near polling locations. The caveat is that concealed carry folks with a concealed carry license can still do that. We have been talking to the secretary of state's office and the county clerks, and they are doing trainings with all of the poll judges and all of their poll workers on enforcement and implementation of that law.
The goal is really just to make sure that folks feel safe. You know, it should be fun to go cast your vote for what you believe in. So that's what that law is hoping to address, is just to make sure that everyone feels safe.
Jonny Coker: And just to go off of that, and this will be my last question, how do federal laws align with New Mexico's state level of protections for voters? And do you feel like there are areas where these laws may be able to be strengthened?
Molly Swank: New Mexico was ranked number one by MIT this year for election administration. And so that just really means that New Mexico is leading the country when it comes to voting. So our voting registration processes, voting, and Election Day itself, and the certification and the counting of votes and everything. So I think that the nation really looks to New Mexico for what we're doing on the ground here. And our elections are some of the safest, most secure elections across the country.
Jonny Coker: Molly Swank is the executive director of Common Cause, New Mexico. Thanks so much for joining me today.
Molly Swank: Thank you so much.
