Mary Herrera

In a report that will air on tonight’s evening news, several former state elections employees tell KUNM’s Jim Williams that allegations made by A.J. Salazar are true. Read the full text of the story, after the jump.

As a Democrat, Doña Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins is worried that the allegations against Secretary of State Mary Herrera may hurt the party’s ability to keep the state office in the November election.
“Obviously, Democrats should have concern about the ability to have the party retain that office,” Ellins said. “I think that is a [...]

County clerks handle the nuts and bolts of elections, so a former state elections director’s allegations of unethical behavior by Secretary of State Mary Herrera probably won’t affect the integrity of the upcoming June primary, many say. Still, some point out that there are a few areas in which the secretary of state directly impacts elections.

Secretary of State Mary Herrera is alleging that former Elections Director A.J. Salazar resigned not because of ethical concerns about the way she runs the office but because he wanted time off from work that she didn’t allow. It’s a charge Salazar says is ridiculous.

The public now has access to former state Elections Director A.J. Salazar’s resignation letter, posted here by the Rio Grande Sun.

The Rio Grande Sun published new details from its interview with former state Elections Director A.J. Salazar today, going with a great deal of depth into his allegation that there are “elements of corruption” in the Secretary of State’s Office – those elements being Secretary of State Mary Herrera and Deputy Secretary of State Don [...]

Another news organization has gotten its hands on a copy of former state Elections Director A.J. Salazar’s resignation letter, but the newspaper didn’t make the full letter public, and the Secretary of State’s Office still hasn’t released it.
Still, in its Friday report on the letter, the Rio Grande Sun included details that hadn’t previously been [...]

The Secretary of State’s Office is refusing to release the scathing letter A.J. Salazar provided when he resigned Friday from his job as elections director, but the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government says the document is a public record that should be released.

The state’s former elections director accused Secretary of State Mary Herrera in his resignation letter of violating the Governmental Conduct Act and election laws. And A.J. Salazar says he’s turned his allegations over to the attorney general, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting.

Rep. Henry “Kiki” Saavedra, D-Albuquerque told the Independent Monday that he will raise the issue  of trying to get enough money for the 2010 elections when the House and Senate meet to hammer out a budget deal.

Legislation that would allow a person to register to vote then immediately cast a ballot at early voting sites require that the registration info be entered into the state online voter database on the spot so that county clerks can verify the person isn’t registered and voting elsewhere in the same election.

State Senator Dianna Duran, R-Tularosa, announced Tuesday that she will be running for the office of Secretary of State. Duran turned in more than 2,000 signed petitions today when officially filing for the race. The senator is a former Otero County Clerk.

Attorney General Gary King’s office can’t say how much taxpayer money has been spent on litigation with two nonprofits even as King appeals a judge’s ruling against his attempt to force the nonprofits to register as political action committees.

The secretary of state has appointed Doña Ana County’s new elections supervisor to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).
Secretary of State Mary Herrera made the announcement today that she’s picked Bob Bartelsmeyer to serve with her on the national commission, which is charged with helping states comply with the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

The New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office doesn’t have the technical capability to manage information technology projects, according to a Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) evaluation.
Nor does it have a “viable disaster recovery” plan for its “mission critical” systems, says the evaluation.