News and Press Releases

-- PRESS RELEASE --

Albuquerque -- June 22, 2010

Alan Woodruff today filed the candidate petitions required to qualify as the Green Party candidate for U.S. Representative for congressional district 1 for the 2010 general election.  The Secretary of State refused to accept those petitions, claiming that the Green Party is not a "qualified" party.

The "qualified" status of the Green Party of New Mexico was put in doubt following the 2008.  Because there are conflicting provisions in the New Mexico Election Code, as a result of the 2008 general election the Green Party both (a) qualified to be elevated to the status of "major" party and (b) lost is status as a "qualified" party.  The Secretary has arbitrarily decided to apply the provision of the Election Code that results in the "de-certification" of the Green Party.  However, the Secretary has failed to comply with any of the requirements of the Election Code that must be satisfied to "de-certify" a party. Although an Attorney General Opinion issued by former attorney general (now Senator) Tom Udall held that the Secretary is required to provide certain notices as a precondition for de-certification, the Secretary has failed to provide the required notices and contends that the Attorney General Opinion does not say what it unambiguously says.

The status of the Green Party, and related challenges to the constitutionality of provisions of the Election Code, are the subject of a continuing lawsuit in U.S. District Court.  Resolution of these issues has been frustrated by the Secretary's delaying tactics and opposition to efforts to mediate a resolution of the issues for purposes of the 2010 general election.  Instead of waiting for a ruling by the court, the Secretary has chosen to assume the outcome of the pending lawsuit and refuse to accept Woodruff's filings.  No provision of the Election Code authorizes her refusal to acept petitions. 

Significantly, the Secretary's refusal to recognize the Green Party also advances her personal ambitions by denying Terry Mulcahy, the Green Party candidate for Secretary of State, a place on the ballot in opposition to her own campaign for re-election.

The Secretary has admitted, in her sworn deposition, that she does not know what the relevant provisions of the Election Code mean, and does not know what is required for Woodruff to qualify for the ballot in the circumstances presented.  Nonetheless, she has chosen to interpret the law to deny Woodruff, and the Green Party, access to the ballot.

The Secretary has also refused to accept candidate papers filed by Daniel Fenton, a candidate for U.S. Representative for congressional district 1.  In an earlier ruling in the lawsuit against the Secretary, the federal court ruled that Fenton, who is not a registered voter, cannot be required to satisfy New Mexico's requirement that all candidates be registered voters because such a requirement violates the "Qualifications Clause" of the U.S. Constitution.  Nonetheless, the Secretary refused to accept Fenton's filings on the grounds that he had not satisfied Election Code requirements that apply only to candidates who are registered voters--even though the attorney general has acknowledged that the federal court ruling bars any such action by the Secretary.

The Secretary's disregard for recent rulings by the federal courts represents the continuation of a practice under which she has continued to employ practices that were ruled to be unconstitutional by the federal court more than twenty years ago.  The Secretary has also failed to take any action to remedy flaws in her practices and the Election Code that the federal court ruled to be unconstitutional in December, 2009.

Inasmuch as the Secretary's actions against Wooduff and Fenton are not authorized by the Election Code, and violate a federal court order, an additional lawsuit against the State, and Secretary of State Mary Herrera personally, for damages to the candidates, the Green Party and the voters is expected.  

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