We’ve seen voter fraud in New Mexico. It’s just not…massive.
Sent to newspapers 7/17/2026
Do New Mexico elections need SAVEing?
This week, the President delivered a primetime speech. It was largely a Festivus-esque airing of grievances along with strident appeals for the passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
We’ve heard much of the SAVE Act, which is largely focused on preventing non-citizens from voting. Unfortunately, this is a solution in search of a problem. Illegal immigrants aren’t voting, since this is a crime and would result in their deportation. The conservative Heritage Foundation, which has authored much of the current administration’s policy, maintains extensive records of voter fraud. Over a multi-decade period nationwide, the Heritage Foundation has documented fewer than one hundred cases of non-citizens voting.
The solution offered by the SAVE Act snarls voter registration, essentially recreating the effort to get a REAL ID to register to vote. Why not just provide a REAL ID to vote or update your voter registration? Not good enough for the SAVE Act.
Now, we can debunk a myth. The SAVE Act doesn’t require existing voters to re-register. It would require anyone wanting to register for the first time, or update their registration with a change of address, change of name after marriage or divorce, or change of party, to provide a birth certificate or passport to do so. A REAL ID is not enough, unless you live in a state that has “enhanced” REAL ID in place (New Mexico does not).
Sort of sounds like….voter suppression….to prevent a non-problem.
But New Mexico! you cry. We have documented voter fraud. Well, on an isolated and miniscule scale. I have written about this before. Two counties have been seen voter fraud convictions here in the last 20 years – one large, one small – and both involved fewer than 15 votes. There are also some weird voter registration numbers in a third county.
Doña Ana County was the subject of a federal investigation stemming from over 100 allegations of voter fraud in 2004. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office conducted an investigation but could not substantiate any claims. What was found was that canvassers for the grassroots group ACORN were falsifying voter registration forms to get paid for work they didn’t do; it could not be proved that these resulted in fraudulent votes.
In 2009 a judge who resided in Sunland Park was convicted of voting in El Paso and in Doña Ana County.
The wife of an Española city councilman was convicted in 2019 by a Rio Arriba County jury of forging signatures on 11 absentee ballots to help her husband win reelection.
New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran launched a probe into voter fraud in 2011. She claimed that over 100 non-citizens were registered to vote based on an investigation of Motor Vehicles Division Data. Further investigation determined that the initial claim failed to note that many foreign-born New Mexicans had become naturalized citizens. Eventually, the tally was lowered to two, only one of whom voted, and that was in error.
That’s 12 cases that I can find since 2009.
Then there is Grant County, where 96% of the population over 18 is registered to vote. In 2024, only 68% of registered voters voted, or 63% of the 18-and-over population. This rather implies that a lot of people registered to vote in Grant County no longer live there or even live at all.
The thing is, none of these anomalies are enough to impact a statewide election, much less a presidential election. The SAVE Act is bringing a flamethrower to a knife fight. Voter fraud is not a widespread, systemic issue at the ballot box.
What is an issue in New Mexico is getting on the ballot. Running for office is hard. It’s a tremendous time commitment. The fundraising is excruciating and frankly demeaning. And as more and more voters leave the two main parties, independent and minor-party candidates face even greater hurdles to get on the ballot. If the system is rigged, this is where the fix is. For statewide office, Democrats and Republicans need 2,500 petition signatures to get on the ballot. Minor party candidates require 7,100. Independents, 14,200.
Just to obtain minor party status with the Secretary of State to run candidates, that party has to get more than 3,100 signatures, more than a Democrat or Republican candidate. It’s a system designed to deter new thoughts and ideas, and – heaven forfend! – true independents not tied to any party caucus.
Federal interference is not required to fix our elections. Continued passage of government laws at the state level is the best way for voters to be heard. Independent redistricting, open primaries and similar initiatives at the state level will do more for voter participation and the loosening of partisan gridlock than federal mandates.
Merritt Hamilton Allen is a PR executive and former Navy officer. She appeared regularly as a panelist on NM PBS and is a frequent guest on News Radio KKOB. A Republican for 36 years, she became an independent upon reading the 2024 Republican platform. She lives amicably with her Democratic husband north of I-40 where they run one head of dog, and one of cat. She can be reached at merritt@merrittocracy.news.