Congresswoman Stansbury Highlights N.M. Voter Protection Laws, Calls for Federal Action to Protect Voting Rights During Field Hearing

Press Release

As voters face a wave of restrictive voter suppression laws in states across the country, U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) lifted up New Mexico's voter access laws and called on Congress to pass comprehensive voting rights protection legislation. Rep. Stansbury participated today in a U.S. House Committee on Administration Subcommittee on Elections field hearing convened by Rep. G.K. Butterfield (N.C.-01), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Elections and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (N.M.-03).

During her remarks, Rep. Stansbury highlighted the work of New Mexico's Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, the New Mexico State Legislature, and civil rights advocates to secure some of the most accessible voter-friendly laws in the country. Rep. Stansbury contrasted New Mexico's voting rights legislation with overly restrictive laws in surrounding states and cited the disparity in her call to pass federal legislation she cosponsors to protect voters from discrimination, prevent foreign interference in our elections, and make it easier to vote.

"I am proud to be from a state that understands that voting rights are the foundation of our democracy and must be protected. And I'm proud to have been a member of this legislature as we pass some of the most important voting rights legislation being discussed here today, including bills to expand voter registration, access to the ballot and voting rights across our communities,"Rep. Stansbury said during her opening statement. "In the last year alone, more than 400 bills have been introduced in 49 states across the United States restricting voting access. It is more important than ever, that we act at the federal level, and why we are still fighting to get the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act across the finish line in the Senate."

Despite other states' efforts to restrict voting access, New Mexico recently enacted legislation to expand voting access to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

In 2019, New Mexico passed a law allowing people to register to vote on election day.
In 2020, every voter registered with a major political party received an absentee ballot application in the mail from the Secretary of State.
In 2021, the New Mexico State Legislature passed the Native American Polling Place Protection Act, providing protections for Native American voters by requiring at least one operational polling location within an Indian Nation, Tribe, or Pueblo, if voters cannot leave their communities due to public health concerns such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The witness panel included New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, Heather Ferguson, the Executive Director of Common Cause New Mexico, Ahtza Dawn Chavez, the Executive Director of the NAVA Education Project, and Andrea Serrano, executive director of OLÉ.

Rep. Stansbury continued by directing a question to Ms. Chavez about the challenges and successes that Indigenous communities in New Mexico that can be scaled to the federal level.

"I think there are a bunch of provisions nationally in the [Native American Voting Rights] Act that make a lot of sense for Tribes," Ms. Chavez responded. "There's a number of small provisions that we can do at the national level…having Tribal buildings be allowed to be the address for any sort of registering votership is very crucial. Anytime we're allowed to use our Tribal identification to be able to vote, that means that we increase the votership. So there are a number of small provisions small changes that can get can be made on the national level that we did try to incorporate in the New Mexico VRA."

Rep. Stansbury is a cosponsor of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. She joined the House of Representatives to pass the Freedom To Vote Act in January.

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