By Frost McGahey, Investigative reporter
New Mexico Democrat Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury had held up a sign that read: "This is Not Normal at the Trump’s joint speech to Congress. This could apply to the number of ballots cast in Grant County.
“Governor Grisham had planned on joining the Harris Administration in D.C. after the election. She was shocked when Trump won,” a source quoted. After all, Trump had lost New Mexico despite obvious support. Her shock was understandable.
In 2012 when NM had the last Republican Secretary of State, there were 12,121 ballots cast in the presidential election in Grant County. In 2024 there were 14,321, an increase of 2200 under the Democrat Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver.
This is not due to an increase in the eligible voting population. There were 23,122 adults in 2012 and in 2024 only 21,308 for a net loss of -1814.
Although New Mexico’s population as a whole has increased in the in the intervening years, that is not true for Gant County. Total population in 2012 was estimated at 29,380 and now it is around 27,541. The uptick in ballots cast can’t be explained by an increased population.
On October 17, 2024 the Albuquerque Journal ran an article about Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s office being criticized by Republican lawmakers because she sent out mailers to potentially eligible but unregistered voters in New Mexico. The piece stated:
“In the run-up to every general election since 2016, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s office has sent out mailers to potentially eligible but unregistered voters in New Mexico.
"But this year’s batch of 105,000 postcards generated particular alarm among some Republican legislators, who say ineligible voters in their districts were among those who received the mailers.”
The lawmakers also questioned why one Chaves County homeowner received multiple mailers featuring different names who had all listed the same address.
Oliver refused to hand over voter lists to the Republicans, but the Southwest Public Policy Institute sued and was able to obtain the list.
Recently the Republican National Committee for Election Integrity (EI) team sent to New Mexico’s Secretary of State and all 50 state SOS offices a letter requesting voter roll maintenance records, under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) as part of its latest election integrity initiative.
*ChatGPT
**New Mexico Secretary of State
