The upcoming midterm elections are slated to be some of the most important elections in modern history. But a majority of Americans are concerned about errors with counting ballots and safety at the polls.
President Trump’s primetime speech earlier in the summer was full of misinformation about foreign interference in our elections, and has off-handedly talked about deploying federal law enforcement to polling locations. The Department of Homeland Security denies that there are plans to have agents stationed at the polls.
In New Mexico, the Secretary of State is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.
It includes coordinating with county officials, enforcing election laws, and monitoring registration records to ensure a “One Person – One Vote” system.
In New Mexico, the Secretary of State’s office also performs pre-election tests to verify that results are calculated accurately. There is also a post-election auditing process that’s been published after every cycle since 2004.
New Mexico votes for Secretary of State every four years. Every Secretary of State elected in New Mexico since 1923 has been a woman.
Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D) has held the office since 2016. During her tenure, Toulouse Oliver earned a reputation for making New Mexico’s elections the seventh most secure in the country and pushing back on federal attempts to acquire voter data.
Maggie Toulouse Oliver is term-limited after two terms running the state’s elections. She’d planned to move up to lieutenant governor, winning that primary in a landslide — then dropped out weeks later, citing changes to her health.
Whoever replaces her decides how New Mexico responds to federal pressure on elections — including a push in Congress for a national voter ID law, and Trump administration demands for New Mexicans’ voter data.
The candidates and where they stand
The empty seat is up for grabs on the 2026 ballot: Democrat Amanda Lopez Askin is running against Republican nominee Ramona Goolsby.
Askin started her career as a public servant when she became a therapist for foster children. In 2018, she was appointed as the Doña Ana County Clerk. County clerks are responsible for administering elections and protecting voter information.
Ramona Goolsby worked for the Veterans Administration as a nurse practitioner before being elected to the Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors in 2025.
Typically, candidates for Secretary of State don’t run on dramatically different policies than their predecessors. Askin supports expanding voter education and making the pre-existing systems more accessible. She has supported Toulouse Oliver’s decision to withhold voter registration information from the Department of Justice, triggering a lawsuit that was dismissed in June.
Goolsby disagrees, telling the Santa Fe New Mexican that “providing full access to the Department of Justice is necessary to ensure New Mexico is complying with federal laws.” Goolsby says New Mexico’s voter rolls need cleaning up and supports requiring identification at the polls.
Goolsby’s campaign reflects the national push from Republicans in Congress to support the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act), a bill that would require voters to show a passport or birth certificate to cast their vote. Experts say that voter ID laws like the SAVE Act could disenfranchise millions of Americans.
In July, US District Judge Judith C. Herrera dismissed the US Department of Justice’s lawsuit against New Mexico that demanded unredacted voter data. However, Toulouse Oliver has agreed to release non-sensitive records in a separate lawsuit from the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) that has requested information related to the voters who were falsely registered as dead.
The Brennan Center of Justice referred to the PILF as “ a promoter of misleading claims about the breadth of errors on voting rolls.”
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