Two county clerks, Katharine Clark from Santa Fe and Amanda López Askin from Doña Ana, are vying for the Democratic nomination as New Mexico’s next top elections official, arguing they have the expertise to push back against federal incursion at the ballot box.
The New Mexico Secretary of State oversees the state’s elections, enforces ethics rules and maintains the state’s records, documents and laws. The position is also third in line to govern after the governor and lieutenant governor. Current Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver cannot run for the seat again, having served two consecutive terms, and is running in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor.
The top election official will face new challenges as President Donald Trump has called for the federal government to exercise authority over state-run elections, and has also pushed efforts to pass federal legislation that would require voters to show passports or other photo identification to participate in elections. New Mexico, along with five other states, is embroiled in a lawsuit against the federal government for refusing to produce voter lists with personal identification.
The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican candidate Ramona Goolsby in the Nov. 3 general election. Goolsby, a family nurse practitioner from Rio Rancho, is running unopposed in the primary.
Source NM posed several questions to both candidates about their races. Their answers have been edited for clarity and concision.
Katharine Clark
Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark, elected to a second term in 2024, is a self-described “elections nerd,” and says she aims to modernize the Secretary of State’s Office.
“The next secretary of state is going to need to protect rights from federal overreach, but also ensure a planned transition to infrastructure that can truly support the vision of making sure that our state truly is the easiest place for people who have the right to vote can,” Clark said.
Her education includes a bachelor’s degree in cognitive neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in management and public policy from the University of New Mexico.
Clark, 44, is also an executive committee member for the national Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which lost funding under the Trump administration.
What makes you the most qualified candidate?
I am the only person in the state who has both the state and national election administration certifications. I believe election administration is a profession. I have worked very hard at a national level to ensure that our vote is protected.
Thirty-six states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls, and recent polling shows that many Americans support using photo ID to register — what is your position?
I’m against voter IDs. Simply, for New Mexicans particularly, it’s challenging, that was demonstrated with Real ID challenges. We’ve not seen, in terms of data, a real need for them.
There is misinformation or a misperception that it would be somehow easy, when it’s not. A lot of voters would have serious challenges with meeting Real ID requirements, like tribal members, unhoused. We have a voter ID in New Mexico; people like it.
Voting rights groups recently sued Trump’s Department of Justice over its efforts to build a database of voter information. How concerned should voters be about this?
I do think voters should be concerned. Because we don’t want the federal government to try to essentially do an end run around what Congress and the Constitution intended, which is that local and state election officials are the ones to control voter registration and voter eligibility.
How effective has New Mexico been at protecting the integrity of its elections and are there any additional steps you would take to bolster election integrity?
Generally, New Mexico has one of the best practices in terms of canvassing and proving that the results that we get on election night — which are the unofficial results — are, in fact, reconciled and become the official results. The counties canvass, the state canvasses and we have a random audit program to pull ballots and hand tally them.
I do think we should ensure every tabulator has additional battery packs, consider GPS tracking all our absentee ballots and establish a new voter registration database to replace the old technology we’re using.
How would you respond to voters who are concerned about the fairness of upcoming elections?
People are concerned that elections officials are biased or that their votes won’t count or that [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] might be intimidating people from casting their ballots. Both ends of the spectrum have different concerns about fairness.
I think we have a very robust process to make the vote fair in New Mexico.
Our [state] Constitution and our rules, are very clear that all of the tabulating, all of the oversight, is done by bipartisan teams. We have a poll observer program in New Mexico built into the system. It’s literally baked in to make sure that there are always eyes on the process.
As for ICE, I sent a letter telling them they are not allowed at our polling sites, to work directly with our sheriff’s office if they needed to be in the area, but that in our view, mere presence is voter intimidation and we plan to enforce that.
What state legislation would you advocate for in the future for New Mexico’s elections?
I think the language on the ballot when people vote should be put in layman’s terms. There’s other states that have a bipartisan committee to ensure the language is a fifth- to eighth grade- reading level and tells you what you’re voting for or against.
There’s not a lot of language about what happens in an emergency. With wildfires and flooding, we need to ensure that people have access to the vote. It’s part of the secretary of state’s job to plan ahead for the climate realities we’re seeing in the world.
How would you work to protect poll workers and other election officials, given the rise in threats against them?
We hire extra security in Santa Fe County. It’s the reality of what we have to do, and I think I’d probably fight for the funding that we get at Santa Fe County for other offices all over the state.
Amanda López Askin
Doña Ana County commissioners appointed Amanda López Askin to the office just two months before the 2018 mid-term elections after the previous county clerk resigned. She has since won reelections in 2020 and 2024.
López Askin cited her experience in dealing with “challenges and threats during her eight-year tenure in office. Those challenges included a death threat by former Republican candidate Solomon Peña, before his arrest for organizing four shootings at the homes of four Democratic politicians after he lost an election for a New Mexico House of Representatives seat.
She said addressing election misinformation before it escalates is needed to rebuild trust in democracy.
“Getting in front and center of concerns about elections, building relationships in the community is an integral part of my leadership, and I want to take that to a statewide level,” she said.
López Askin has a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, along with a Ph.D in educational leadership from New Mexico State University.
What makes you the most qualified candidate?
I’ve run 12 elections in the second most-populous county with some of the most contentious elections, often with the least resources.
Elections are difficult, no matter where you run them. But in southern New Mexico, not only do we have to administer elections, but [we have to] fight the election denial narrative that something is amiss with elections.
Thirty-six states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls, and recent polling shows that many Americans support using photo ID to register — what is your position?
There’s a bit of a misnomer. New Mexico does have voter ID laws, as you’re often required to show a photo identification when you register to vote. There are three ways in which New Mexicans must prove their identity at the ballot box or seek an absentee ballot.
Using a photo ID or voter registration card, or the third method, which is affirming information known only to the voter. We have to dispel the myth that there’s not any identification needed in New Mexico to register to vote. You cannot register to vote without having proven through several sources who you are.
Voting rights groups recently sued Trump’s Department of Justice over its efforts to build a database of U.S. voter information. How concerned should voters be about this push?
We were one of the states that quickly said, ‘we will protect New Mexico’s private, personal private information.’ We’re seeking for the federal government to basically conform to the current law and will resist any attempts of overreach together. We have no idea what the list is being used for. We have no idea if the information that they gather and put in the list is correct. Frankly, that should be a concern to every New Mexican, regardless of political affiliation.
How effective has New Mexico been at protecting the integrity of its elections and are there any additional steps you would take to bolster election integrity?
New Mexico has been front and center and leading on integrity. Despite the naysayers, in the last eight years since I’ve been doing the job, we have best practices in New Mexico that are nationally recognized, including handmarked paper ballots, audits at every step of the way, post-election machine checks and certification. We have election officials of different parties that serve on the front line. The more eyes on the election, the better.
How would you respond to voters who are concerned about the fairness of upcoming elections?
We encourage people to get involved in the process, whether as an election official or poll watcher or observer, and see for themselves how well New Mexico elections are run.
If you’re concerned about our elections, if you’re concerned about your right to vote, or other people’s rights to vote, then we’re starting with a lot in common. There should be no ‘us versus them.’ It’s all voters who are concerned and we need to engage.
If you see something wrong, report it to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office or the attorney general or district attorney for a full investigation.
It’s important to validate people’s concern because they are invested in democracy and so am I, but I also give them real, accurate information that hopefully they will take in.
What state legislation would you advocate for in the future for New Mexico’s elections?
In the recent Voting Rights Act, we embedded the Native American Voting Rights Act and there are some aspects of that legislation that need to be fully implemented to support Indigenous and tribal communities. Frankly, one of the things that will continue to be a battle for the New Mexico secretary of state will be the budget; we need to make sure we’re fully funded to support county clerks across the state.
How would you work to protect poll workers and other election officials, given the rise in threats against them?
Well, New Mexico is already a leader in stepping up and changing laws that advocate for additional penalties and more layers of protection for everyone that’s involved in elections.
New Mexico has its challenges and we have our differing opinions, politically. For the most part, far and wide, my fellow New Mexicans have been respectful of poll officials across our state and that’s the good news, but we always have to have enhanced training and prepare them for deescalation and the ‘what ifs’ for every election. [Poll workers] are our front lines and we literally could not run elections without them.
