Latest news with #votereducation
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark enters NM secretary of state race
May 30—SANTA FE — The open race to pick New Mexico's next top elections official will feature a Democratic primary showdown involving at least two county clerks. Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark recently announced her campaign for secretary of state, ending weeks of speculation. She joins Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin, who became the first candidate in the race when she announced her candidacy last month. In announcing her campaign, Clark cited her trip to Washington, D.C., earlier this year to advocate for the restoration of election security programs as part of the National Association of Counties Board of Directors. She said in a Friday interview she would push to expand voter education programs in high schools if successful in next year's election cycle, while also vowing to continue the work of outgoing Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver. "We want to make sure elections are protected," Clark told the Journal. Clark was first elected as Santa Fe County clerk in November 2020, and then won reelection to a second four-year term in 2024. Before that, she worked on political campaigns, including as a campaign manager, an experience she said gave her unique perspective about how elections are run. "The election administration should never be the reason a candidate wins or loses," Clark said. "Voters should decide whether a candidate wins or loses." She recently launched a TV ad campaign — in her role as county clerk — touting the ease of "pajama voting" for New Mexicans who request permanent absentee voter status. But she said the TV ads were launched before she announced her campaign, and not intended as a way to boost her political profile. Clark also said she believes she's the "best candidate" in the race, citing Santa Fe County's high voter turnout rate in recent election cycles, including a turnout of 75.1% of registered voters in last year's general election. Next year's secretary of state race will not feature an incumbent, as Toulouse Oliver is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term in office. Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, has served as secretary of state for eight-plus years. She was first elected to the office in 2016, following former Secretary of State Dianna Duran's resignation after being charged with using campaign funds to fuel a gambling habit. All New Mexico statewide offices will be on the ballot next year, including governor, attorney general and secretary of state. A Democrat has held the Secretary of State's Office for all but a few years in modern New Mexico history. When she won election in 2016, Duran became the first Republican elected to the office since 1929. After she resigned, fellow Republican Brad Winter served as secretary of state for one year after being appointed to the post by then-Gov. Susana Martinez.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark enters NM secretary of state race
May 30—SANTA FE — The open race to pick New Mexico's next top elections official will feature a Democratic primary showdown involving at least two county clerks. Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark recently announced her campaign for secretary of state, ending weeks of speculation. She joins Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin, who became the first candidate in the race when she announced her candidacy last month. In announcing her campaign, Clark cited her trip to Washington, D.C., earlier this year to advocate for the restoration of election security programs as part of the National Association of Counties Board of Directors. She said in a Friday interview she would push to expand voter education programs in high schools if successful in next year's election cycle, while also vowing to continue the work of outgoing Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver. "We want to make sure elections are protected," Clark told the Journal. Clark was first elected as Santa Fe County clerk in November 2020, and then won reelection to a second four-year term in 2024. Before that, she worked on political campaigns, including as a campaign manager, an experience she said gave her unique perspective about how elections are run. "The election administration should never be the reason a candidate wins or loses," Clark said. "Voters should decide whether a candidate wins or loses." She recently launched a TV ad campaign — in her role as county clerk — touting the ease of "pajama voting" for New Mexicans who request permanent absentee voter status. But she said the TV ads were launched before she announced her campaign, and not intended as a way to boost her political profile. Clark also said she believes she's the "best candidate" in the race, citing Santa Fe County's high voter turnout rate in recent election cycles, including a turnout of 75.1% of registered voters in last year's general election. Next year's secretary of state race will not feature an incumbent, as Toulouse Oliver is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term in office. Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, has served as secretary of state for eight-plus years. She was first elected to the office in 2016, following former Secretary of State Dianna Duran's resignation after being charged with using campaign funds to fuel a gambling habit. All New Mexico statewide offices will be on the ballot next year, including governor, attorney general and secretary of state. A Democrat has held the Secretary of State's Office for all but a few years in modern New Mexico history. When she won election in 2016, Duran became the first Republican elected to the office since 1929. After she resigned, fellow Republican Brad Winter served as secretary of state for one year after being appointed to the post by then-Gov. Susana Martinez.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Thurston County commissioners honor auditor's office for national communications award
May 7—The Thurston County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) honored the county auditor's office after it recently won a national Clearinghouse Award from the United States Election Assistance Commission, recognized for excellence in voter education and communications. The auditor's office's "Your Neighbors, Your Elections" video series won the award, beating out other counties in the large jurisdictions category such as Pierce County and Los Angeles County, according to Auditor Mary Hall. "Your Neighbors, Your Elections" highlights the real people behind Thurston County's elections: local residents who volunteer their time to show how elections work and to build trust in county elections. Additionally, the auditor's office received an honorable mention in the accessibility category for "Expanding Access: Public Transit Partnerships for Accessible Elections." Hall visited the Tuesday BOCC meeting to highlight the work done by the auditor's office communications team en route to the Clearinghouse Award, which she dubbed the "Academy Award of election awards." "Every county in the country applies for these, and we have many times, but I'm thrilled that we won the award for outreach effort," Hall said. "We are big believers in that the way to build trust in elections is really through transparency, and elections are conducted by people. There are a lot of rumors out there of what's really happening. So we brought people together, and we wanted to show the community who really is behind elections, and it's really your neighbors." Hall thanked the volunteers for their courage in a climate in which she said elections workers and officials have received threats, including a fentanyl-laced envelope last year. "It was very courageous of them to step up. We've really redefined what voter education looks like. It's personal, it's honest, and it's proven to be effective," she said. "All of this was done in house with very minimal cost. This is government at its best." Emmett O'Connell, communications manager at the auditor's office and creator of the effort, said the idea to highlight the people behind the elections came from research about effective ways to build trust in elections. The "Your Neighbors, Your Elections" videos are unscripted, he said, and they allow volunteers to explain what they enjoy about working in elections and what motivates them. "The most measurable measure with this project was the change in tenor in online comments when we went to our digital ad campaign in the fall. As you might imagine, people have a lot of strong thoughts about elections when presented to them in their social news feeds," O'Connell said. "It's a lot of negative. Once we put money behind these ads, it was breathtaking. People were so kind. The people who did decide to jump into those comment threads and say negative things were chastised, not by me but by other people." Commissioner Emily Clouse called for a round of applause after the auditor's office presented one of the videos in the series to the commissioners. She lauded Hall and her team for the care they put into the elections process. "I've seen firsthand how much you care. I've had the pleasure of touring the ballot processing center twice, and once was actually on election day," Clouse said. "Everyone was locked in. They were so focused on what they were doing, but you could still see how much joy there was, and you could feel it in the room because people care so much about making sure we have fair and transparent elections."
