We are New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Commissioner Benjamin Hovland of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Today is #VoteEarlyDay and we want to help every voter understand their options to vote early in-person...

Wait, they made New Mexico from Breaking Bad into a real place?

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: New Mexico is not only a real place it is REALLY amazing! Come visit! I loved Breaking Bad not just for being a great show but also because I felt like it was a love letter to my beautiful state. The storyline may be tragic, but just looking at the beautiful imagery of my home always makes me smile. Incidentally, Breaking Bad filmed in many places I have personally spent much time: Java Joes, my favorite breakfast place (aka Tuco's hideout); my high school gym (season 2, episode 1), my old office building (Hank's DEA building); the Grove (where Walter and Lydia meet for coffee); Twisters (i.e. Los Pollos Hermanos), and many more!

what would be required for your State to switch to Ranked Choice Voting?

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: Currently, in NM, Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is available in non-partisan, local elections. Right now, two major municipalities: Las Cruces and Santa Fe, employ RCV for their elections. We are hoping Albuquerque is next! Our state would need to pass a constitutional amendment to allow, first, for any sort of runoff voting at the state level. There will be a bill in the upcoming NM legislative session to place this question on the ballot for NM voters. If passed, the legislature could then adopt legislation not only mandating runoff-style elections for state offices, but also to mandate RCV in those offices. So, at minimum, this will be a multi-year process. The good news is we are off to a good start with RCV in NM!

COMMISSIONER HOVLAND: This is going to be a state by state question depending what your state law/constitution say about the voting process. It may be the state legislature or a ballot initiative (where allowed) or a constitutional amendment. The National Conference of State Legislatures has some great information on some of the considerations. https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/ranked-choice-voting-in-practice-implementation-considerations-for-policymakers.aspx

Do you have any tips for how to handle intrusive 'poll watchers'?

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: At the end of the day, it's an election official's job to make sure there is no obstruction of the voting process. However, if you personally feel intimidated or in any way prevented from casting your vote at a polling place, let your polling place official know, or call 1-866-OUR-VOTE to report an issue

COMMISIONER HOVLAND: Our elections are meant to be transparent and states have rules to allow for people to electioneer up to a certain distance from the polling place as well as observe the elections. But if people aren't following the rules, or your feel intimidated, let a poll worker know and/or call 1-866-OUR-VOTE as Secretary Toulouse Oliver said.

Would you support moving election day to a Saturday or Sunday and do you believe that would increase voter turnout?

COMMISSIONER HOVLAND: I don't mind the idea of Election Day on a Saturday or Sunday, but my real preference is for voters to have options. Many Americans like the traditional Tuesday Election Day, but it doesn't work for everyone. That is why it is important have early voting and no excuse absentee as an option. Also, as much as I love voting, I am not sure I want to be competing with a college football Saturday or an NFL Sunday for many Americans attention.

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: Possibly. I'm not sure we can know that, given how many options are available to cast a ballot before Election Day nowadays. I think it's less important what day of the week the election is on, and more important that there are robust options for casting a vote early-in person (#VoteEarlyDay) or by mail. That being said, I support any and all efforts that pave the way for more voter participation!

What is it like running elections with all this shit going on right now? Are you scared?

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: Honestly, it's a crazy time and often feels like I'm living in an alternate reality! I'm not scared - I have incredible support from the FBI, Department of Justice, and our State Police here in NM. But I am deeply concerned, and I would by lying if I said I wasn't affected by the threats and intimidation aimed toward me, my staff, and my colleagues around the country. This type of behavior is unacceptable in a democracy and no American should stand for it! I'm hopeful that this too shall pass, but we are definitely living through challenging times. Supporting and having the backs of my colleagues - as they do mine - is incredibly helpful right now.

COMMISSIONER HOVLAND: Elections are run at the state and local level in the U.S., so I don't have the pressure of administering an election. That said, the commitment and dedication of the professionals who run our elections is awesome to see. I travel all around the country meeting with election officials and am consistently impressed by their professionalism and passion for our democracy. The threats and harassment that we have been seeing is totally unacceptable. It saddens me to see so many Americans lose faith in our democracy. Even worse is that all of the evidence points the other way. We must all do more to have honest conversations about how are elections are administered and point people to trusted sources, like their state and local election officials, for information.

What's the voting process for college students who are out of state?

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: What’s the voting process for college students who are out of state? It depends on the state. In my state, anyone who is a NM registered voter, but living out of state, can apply for an absentee (vote by mail ballot). NM's deadline to apply is Nov 1. But to find the mail ballot deadline, or other requirements for those voters living out of state - for any and all states, please visit: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote

Is putting a modern election together as complex as it seems? I am sure there are systems built in, but it seems like the actual organization is insane.

COMMISSIONER HOVLAND: I am sure there are systems built in, but it seems like the actual organization is insane. Elections are an extremely complex series of logistics. Check out this series of Quick Start Guides for a little sense of what election officials need to think about in order to conduct an election. https://www.eac.gov/election-officials/quick-start-guides

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: I am sure there are systems built in, but it seems like the actual organization is insane. (edited) You're not wrong, election management is EXTREMELY complex. That's one of the things I always try to emphasize when I talk about the election process. We're talking about literally hundreds of millions of people voting with tens of thousands of volunteers across the country managing the process, not to mention the thousands of full time election officials. So much humanity! As an election official, I have to be an Election Law expert, an IT expert, a Cybersecurity Expert, a Communications Expert, a Human Resources Expert, and etc. etc. etc. That being said, the folks who do this work across the country are all these things and more and extremely dedicated. Give your local election official a hug and thank them for their work! :wink:

Should Secretary of State races be partisan?

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: I think about this one a lot. On the one hand, we should not have the arbiters of elections in our country have to run on a partisan ballot and talk about their political views outside the realm of the job (I should know, because I have had to do this multiple times!) On the other hand, election someone in a non-partisan capacity or having them appointed doesn't ensure you are removing partisanship - or other bias - from the individual's approach to the work. It may even obscure it. At least in places where SOS's and other election officials are elected in a partisan election you are able to understand more about their personal values and where they are coming from.
I do believe that all election officials should sign a code of conduct or ethics in which we pledge to not bring our partisan beliefs into the election process - that we treat the political parties, their candidates, and voters equally; that we do not personally endorse or give money to any candidate on a ballot for which we are overseeing or running the election; and that we pledge to recuse ourselves in decisions that impact our own races.

COMMISSIONER HOVLAND: To me it is more about how people act in the role. I often say election administration is not about politics, but rather good governance and customer service. Unfortunately, there have been individuals who have politicized the role and the office. In my experience, that is the exception, not the rule. I have met countless election officials across the country that are Rs and Ds, but you wouldn't know it because that takes a backseat to serving the voters.

Sec. Toulouse Oliver - What are you doing to address the challenges Native Americans have in voting in your state?

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: First of all, every American, no matter their race, ethnicity, or physical residence, should have more difficulty than another accessing the ballot. That's why here in NM, I created the Native American Voting taskforce, with representatives who are affiliated with all 23 federally-recognized tribes here in my state, as well as an Urban Native representative. We are looking at issues of: 1) Access: many native folks living on tribal land have to travel farther to vote in person and often do not receive voting (or any) mail at their residence; 2) Digital Divide: many rural, tribal areas do not have access to broadband internet and this keeps us from being able to provide in-person voting services in these places; 3) Language and culturally-appropriate voter information: My office and other election officials are working to provide more and better information about how, where, and when to cast a ballot, including WHAT is on the ballot to folks who speak the 12 different tribal languages in my state. We have much more work to do, but these are the areas where we are currently focusing our efforts!

COMMISSIONER HOVLAND: This question wasn't for me and I'll let Sec. Toulouse Oliver discuss the great work her team is doing in NM. I did want to mention the U.S. Election Administration Commission has been creating some great resources to help election officials around the country serve their Native American voters. Check out: https://www.eac.gov/election-officials/voting-access-native-americans-case-studies-best-practices

Can it be done over the internet or do you have to send away for a ballot? I live abroad.

COMMISSIONER HOVLAND: Americans living abroad have a number of options on how to cast a ballot, but it depends on your state/jurisdictions. The Federal Voting Assistance Program or FVAP has great resources on how to vote for our military and overseas citizens. Check out https://www.fvap.gov/

Why vote early? Why not wait until Election Day?

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: Because Election Day isn't just the only day to vote anymore, it's the LAST CHANCE to vote. Murphy's Law is always in effect, so banking your vote early ensures you won't run into any challenges that keep you from voting on Election Day.

I think that’s an important message : FINAL VOTING DAY.

COMMISSIONER HOVLAND: Absolutely! We have seen the trend over the last decade or more that Americans want options to vote. With the pandemic in 2020, we saw record numbers of Americans voting by mail and voting early. That experience will certainly expedite the trend toward Election Day being the last day for Americans to cast their ballot rather than the only day.

COMMISSIONER HOVLAND: You can wait if you want to do so. The main thing is that Americans have options. A Tuesday in November is not the best day for all Americans to vote. I personally voted today (#VoteEarlyDay) because Election Day is pretty busy for me and today was better for my schedule.

Hello, I have some experience in hacking Diebold election machines, I know from experience that you can remove the hard drive from these electronic machines fairly easily, and replace them just as easily in a private booth.

What protections are in place to prevent someone from swaping out a hard drive with false data, be that cryptographic signatures or session tracking?

see attached: https://ksltv.com/392899/hackers-get-into-voting-machines-during-hackwest-convention/

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: To my knowledge, the machines referred to in this article are no longer in use. Additionally, a "hackathon" type activity does not replicate the real world security measures in place in every polling location in the country that would have prevented you from engaging a voting machine in that type of unfettered way. I consider this post disinformation and respectfully ask that you rethink spreading it.
That being said, for tabulators that are currently in use around the country the security mechanisms to prevent them from being hacked are multifaceted. I'll speak to the NM process, but this looks largely the same in every state: First of all, machines in NM are NEVER connected to the internet. The tabulators are only open, closed, and accessed by bi-partisan teams of poll officials at every level. We have strict chain of custody processes and seal each card slot with a serial numbered tag to ensure there is no tampering or replacement of a memory card at any point. Results are uploaded to air-gapped systems and then shared with our external systems to post results.

COMMISIONER HOVLAND: Election officials around the country build safeguards throughout the process. From pre-election logic and accuracy tests to post election tabulation audits and everything in between. Check out this document for more details on some of the security measures that are used in elections. https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/electionofficials/security/Voting\_System\_Security\_Measures\_508\_EAC.pdf
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