New Mexico Sec. of State Gives Green Light to Clear Voting Machines;
Cobb Says NM Officials are Obstructing Justice.
January 13, 2005
Contact: Rick Lass, NM Coordinator at 505.920.0540
Blair Bobier, Media Director at 541.929.5755
2004 Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb
today accused New Mexico election officials of "deliberately
obstructing justice" by giving counties the green light to clear
electronic voting machines while a demand for a recount of New Mexico's
controversial presidential vote is still pending.
New Mexico had the nation's highest percentage of
under-votes for the presidential race. In addition, there are still many
unanswered questions about provisional ballots, missing votes and the
integrity of voting machines which don't produce a paper trail.
"The conduct of New Mexico's Governor and
Secretary of State has gone from bad to worse. They have gone from
showing a complete disregard for New Mexico law and for the integrity of
the democratic process to deliberately obstructing justice. Clearing the
electronic voting machines while a recount demand is pending will
destroy critical evidence about what happened on Election Day. This is
outrageous and makes you wonder what they are trying to hide," said
Cobb.
The recount request by Cobb and Libertarian Party
presidential candidate Michael Badnarik is now the subject of a lawsuit
pending in the New Mexico Court of Appeals.
In a letter faxed today to the New Mexico Attorney
General's office, an attorney representing the two presidential
candidates objected to the voting machines being cleared and suggested
that the Secretary of State was "shirking her responsibility to
insure uniform application of the election laws" by allowing county
clerks to decide on their own whether or not to clear the voting
machines.
"Although, generally, voting machines can be
cleared 30 days after the official certification of the vote, New Mexico
law is clear that this can't happen when a recount has been initiated.
With an appeal pending in the New Mexico court system, any adjustment to
the machines at this time is clearly inappropriate and contrary to state
law," said Lowell Finley, one of the attorneys representing the
candidates.
Voting rights attorneys will file a request for a
temporary restraining order tomorrow against the State Canvassing Board
and county clerks seeking to prevent them from clearing voting machines.
The State Canvassing Board, consisting of the New
Mexico's Governor, Secretary of State and Chief Justice, met tonight and
formally rejected a proposal from Cobb and Badnarik for a partial
recount of the presidential vote, which would have expedited the
process, saved time and avoided any costs to taxpayers. Previously, the
Secretary of State had unilaterally rejected this proposal though she
lacked the authority to do so.
"New Mexico's Governor and Secretary of State
are doing such a poor job of following state law that they're starting
to make Ohio's Kenneth Blackwell look good by comparison," said
Cobb-LaMarche Media Director Blair Bobier.
For more information about the Cobb-LaMarche
campaign and its recount efforts in New Mexico and Ohio, see <http://www.votecobb.org>.
