Hispanos Unidos is back and fighting for reform
Requiring voters to show photo IDs at the polls is critical to fair elections in New Mexico
I’m happy to give good news to New Mexicans — Hispanos Unidos is back! We never actually went away, but recently we reorganized and now there are more citizens than ever involved in our fight for election reform in New Mexico.
For those who may be new to our state, the struggle began in 2008 when ACORN hit New Mexico and their employees (were charged with providing false information on voter registration forms to hit goals).
Hispanos Unidos was formed, thenstate Rep. Dianne Hamilton, R-Silver City, carried bills for election reform; we told the stories of disenfranchised voters, and by 2010 polls revealed that more than 80 percent of New Mexicans were in favor of photo ID requirements at the polls.
But opposition in Santa Fe was strong. Not only was all legislation carried by Rep. Hamilton, Rep. Cathrynn Brown, R-Carlsbad, and others killed in committee, new legislation calling for same-day registration and “automatic” voter registration were introduced, which would make cheating in New Mexico even easier.
We worked hard to fight those bills, and none have actually become law.
But our people came dangerously close to losing the few safeguards we have in ensuring any kind of fairness.
During the last 10 years, Hispanos Unidos has continued to provide training to poll workers who request it, helping them identify irregularities at the polls.
We have engaged in data mining that has indicated suspiciously inconsistent turnout in several geographic regions of our state.
Despite tepid attempts to purge the voter rolls, they are grotesquely swollen with outdated information. Additionally, nothing precludes thousands of nonexistent people to be registered before any given election. It happens every two years.
We are convinced that the only way to clean up our elections is to require voters to provide a photo ID at the polls.
Opponents crow that this is a way to disenfranchise the thousands and thousands of New Mexicans who do not possess a photo ID. What they don’t want you to know is that Rep. Hamilton’s bills demanded that citizens who don’t have a photo ID would be given one by the state, free of charge.
You can’t get welfare or a job without a photo ID. You can’t get health care, have a bank account or even check out a book from a New Mexico library.
If you are too poor to secure a photo ID, it is our responsibility as a compassionate people to give you one.
Many lawmakers have taken the position that if you do not have the right to vote taken away from you personally, you need to sit down and shut up. Hispanos Unidos believes that your right to vote includes the right to not have your vote cancelled by someone who shouldn’t be voting or who doesn’t even exist.
As citizens, we have a moral obligation to stand up to a Legislature that refuses to help the poorest among us, and then ensures their re-election by denying us election reform.
We have reason to be optimistic. Although Rep. Hamilton retired in 2016, her daughter, Merritt Hamilton Allen, is running for the state house in District 22. She will pick up the mantle for election reform, bringing youth and vigor to the fight. Photo ID at the polls continues to be a nonpartisan issue among the electorate, with Democrats, Republicans, Independents and Libertarians all joining together for this common cause.
The city of Albuquerque now requires a photo ID to be presented for municipal elections. The largest newspaper in the state — the Albuquerque Journal — has voiced its editorial support for photo ID at the polls.
Perhaps most importantly, this cause is right and just.
That alone makes it worthy of our wholehearted support.
Join us. Together we have stronger voice. Visit our website at www.nmhispanos.org and sign our petition. Make a contribution. Sign up to be a volunteer. Get your friends and family involved. ¡Tu voto es poder!