Get Out and Vote

No More Normal

Millions of people around the U.S. have already voted early. Simultaneously many people are preparing to fill out their ballots, but are concerned with how they will deliver them, and, more importantly, if their vote will be counted. So many questions. Here at NoMoNo, we are going to dig deep to find answers for you. Episode 11 is all about preserving and exercising your right to vote. We talk with New Mexico's secretary of state, the president of the Albuquerque chapter of the American Postal Workers Union, a national election law expert, activists who protecting voting rights for underserved communities—and voters.

Tuesday, Oct. 6, is the last day in New Mexico that you can register to vote by mail or online for this election, though you can register in-person at your county clerk's office up through Halloween.

A quick note: Some of these interviews we did early on in the week before President Trump revealed he had contracted coronavirus.

Matthew Weil is the director of the Elections Project for the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank in D.C. Everyone's looking closely at election law the last few days. We ask him about what courses of action political parties would take if a presidential candidate dies before the election.

We’re launching the Voices Behind The Vote series this week, where we find out about who voters are and what they care about. We’ve got a couple in this episode: Executive Producer Marisa Demarco catches up with voter Art Simoni, who was her editor when she was a student reporter nearly 20 years ago. Reporter Nash Jones speaks with Reina Davis, a 23-year-old Albuquerque voter who, while not particularly excited about her options for president, sees voting as harm-reduction and as one facet of fighting for reproductive justice. And Jones also talks to Albuquerque voter Georgia Petropoulos, who owns Casa San Pablo, a senior-living home, about how the pandemic affected her small business and now informs her vote.

Free and fair elections should be bedrocks in any democracy. The dependence on ethical governance is key to having a thriving country. Heather Ferguson is the executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, an organization that focuses on ethics and accountability in government.

Maggie Toulouse Oliver is the secretary of state for New Mexico. That means she is coordinating the state’s election process. Hence, she’s very busy. We hear from her about the types of conversations she’s had with postal officials and the confidence New Mexicans can have in the voting process.

If you run into trouble as you vote, call 1-866-OUR-VOTE. Voting rights advocates will be waiting to hear from you. Common Cause also has hotlines for people who speak other languages. Find all those numbers at commoncause.org.

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No More Normal is brought to you by Your New Mexico Government, a collaboration between KUNM, New Mexico PBS, and The Santa Fe Reporter. Funding for our coverage comes from The New Mexico Local News Fund, The Kellogg Foundation, and KUNM listeners. Support for public media provided by the Thornburg Foundation.