February 27th, 2026Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico Democrats push back against federal voter ID bill at Santa Fe forum

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver on Friday assailed proposed federal legislation that would impose strict proof-of-citizenship requirements on voters, warning such requirements could potentially disenfranchise many New Mexicans who lack certain forms of ID.
A priority of the Trump administration, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE Act for short, would require proof of citizenship like a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate when people register to vote, as well as photo identification when people cast ballots.
“This legislation would be absolutely devastating for New Mexicans,” Heinrich said during a roundtable on elections at the Santa Fe Community College.
He added: “Our message today is simple: Not on our watch.”
The routable, which also featured two county clerks, served as an opportunity for Heinrich and Toulouse Oliver to also offer commentary on some remarks President Donald Trump has made about nationalizing elections as well ashis recent comment that New Mexico elections are “corrupt.”
“When he [Trump] isn’t trying to dismantle our local elections, he is trying to get his hands on your personal information,” Heinrich said. “His Department of Justice is literally suing Secretary Toulouse Oliver to gain access to full, unredacted statewide voter registration records. Those are your records, your Social Security numbers.”
The SAVE Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month and is currently stalled in the Senate, which has a 53-47 GOP majority. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, has indicated Republicans are not united in a plan to use a “talking filibuster” to move the legislation to Trump’s desk. The bill would need to get 60 votes in the Senate to clear the legislative filibuster.
While Democrats have asserted the bill will disenfranchise millions of voters in the country in an important election year, Republicans have said it is necessary to prevent voter fraud. Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that he won the 2020 presidential election but had his victory stolen by fraud and has made claims about widespread voting by noncitizens, which is barred by federal law for state and federal elections. (A handful of municipalities allow it in local elections.)
Oriana Sandoval — CEO of the Center for Civic Policy, a nonprofit that “works to empower and amplify the voices of everyday New Mexicans,” according to its website — said about 37% of people in New Mexico have passports, so the measure has the ability to disenfranchise many voters in the state, especially given that obtaining a passport can be a difficult process.
Sandoval also noted many women who are married have changed their surname, meaning the name on their birth certificate or passport may not match up with their driver’s license.
“Again, huge disenfranchisement,” Sandoval said.
Guadalupe County Clerk Robert “Bubba” Serrano III and Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin also participated in the roundtable. Heinrichlast year endorsedLópez Askin over Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark in the Democratic primary to succeed Toulouse Oliver, who is running for lieutenant governor as her term as secretary of state ends next year. Clark was not at Friday’s event.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced in December it was suing six states,including New Mexico, for “failure to produce their statewide voter registration lists upon request.”
“Accurate voter rolls are the cornerstone of fair and free elections, and too many states have fallen into a pattern of noncompliance with basic voter roll maintenance,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in statement about these lawsuits.
Toulouse Oliver said her office provided the federal government with voter registration data that is publicly available — but not personal information such as a person’s full date of birth, driver’s license number or Social Security number.
“We’re determined that they’re not going to win, first and foremost, and in fact, federal courts have already ruled in favor of Oregon and Michigan in this exact same situation,” Toulouse Oliver said.
In January,Trump claimed electionsin New Mexico are among the most corrupt in the nation, maintaining he would “win by a lot” otherwise in a state has lost three times.
“They’ve got to clean up their elections in New Mexico ... because those elections are so corrupt, it’s incredible,” Trump said.
Toulouse Oliver pushed back at Friday’s roundtable.
“I don’t know which state he’s talking about, but that is not New Mexico,” Toulouse Oliver said.
She pointed to how the New Mexico’s elections have been ranked best in the nation by the Elections Performance Index, a project of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab. The rankings are based on 2022 midterm elections.
Panelists characterized some of Trump’s rhetoric around elections as “alarming” and applauded the Legislature passing Senate Bill 264 in the recent legislative session, which would make it illegal under state law to station troops at polling places.
The bill now is on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk. Federal law already bans armed troops at polling places.