Politicians in New Mexico--including democrat Bill Richardson, a presidential hopeful--are refusing to follow New Mexico State law and do a recount! Read below for the details. It appears that Richardson is more concerned about how he's viewed by republicans than how he'll be received by his progressive democrat base.
If you feel so inclined, let Richardson know in no uncertain terms that you are registered democrat, but he will never have your support if he does not protect the vote and follow NM election law for a recount.
You can e-mail Richardson here:http://www.governor.state.nm.us/contact.html(The web based form requires you to put in a NM city, county, and zip. You can use Santa Fe for the city and county, and 87501 for the zip to get it to work.)
Here's a timeline of what's happened:* Bush wins NM with less than 1% of the vote. A variety of problems surrounding the election seem to exist.
* 11/29 - David Cobb and Michael Badnarik filed for a recount. Help America Recount Fund paid $114,000.00 deposit. $108,000.00 was actually required by law.
* New Mexico election law requires for the recount to begin within 10 days of filing for the recount.
* 12/1 Richardson says in press release he is against the recount- "doesn't think it will change the outcome of the election".
* 12/3 - SoS tells reporters the cost of a recount could run $600,000.00 and that a recount is not certain.
* No response comes from the SoS or the State Elections Official
* 12/10 - Prominent Democratic attorneys David Garcia and John Boyd officially join the effort.
* 12/10 - 4 PM - Law suit filed on behalf of candidates for a writ of mandamus-requesting the court to require the canvassing board to comply with the law and start the recount in the time frame specified in the statute.
* 12/10 - 5PM - Governor's office sends out a press release announcing the canvassing board will meet on Tuesday, December 14 at 5 PM. 6th on the agenda is "discussion and possible vote of the recount request".
* 12/13 - District court denied the writ of mandamus petition without prejudice inviting the parties back if a satisfactory resolution was not met at the canvassing board meeting on Tuesday.
* 12/14 - Canvassing board meeting - All three members- Gov. Richardson, SoS Vigil-Giron, and Chief Justice Maes - vote unanimously without any substantive discussion against the recount (recount is allowed by law, not discretionary). SoS then reads from notes that she would allow the recount if her revised estimate of the total cost of 1.4 million dollars was paid in cash or through a surety bond by 10 AM on the morning of 12/16.
* 12/15 - Santa Fe District Court Judge Carol Vigil denies petition for a writ of mandamus requiring canvassing board to go forward with the recount as required by law.
* 12/15 - Separate petition (appeal) is made to the NM Supreme Court.
* 12/15 - Negotiations with AG and Gov's office - Recount petitioners suggest a "10% solution" as an act of good faith and compromise solution that allows everyone to get what they want. The proposed deal would provide for a 10% recount in precincts chosen by the candidates counsel and would be paid for up front. If the precincts showed error that extrapolated across the rest of the state would change the outcome of the election, then a full state wide recount would commence.
* 12/17 - AP reporter calls lead counsel Lowell Finley with news that the Governor said he was not interested in the deal.
* 12/20 Report comes out showing alarming data including reported presidential under votes of 21,000 that are linked to specific machine types, over 2,000 phantom votes, and other disturbing statistical anomalies.
* 12/21 The New Mexico Supreme Court, in a 4-1 vote, denies our petition without holding a hearing and without a written opinion.
Here's what the NM Recount group sent out yesterday:We have heard through the press that the New Mexico State Supreme Court has denied our petition for a writ of mandamus requiring the canvassing board to start the recount as specified by law. This denial came a week after filing an emergency petition and without a hearing. Ironically, this decision was made within one hour after the court received new evidence in the form of revised data analysis and a signed affidavit by a credentialed statistician.
Where do we go from here?
There are many ways to continue this populist demand for a more fair and accurate democratic process. Do not think this struggle is over. In fact, it looks like, thanks to the energy and will of people like you, it's just begun. We are currently thinking through the best way to move forward. In addition, we would like to hear your thoughts and ideas. But given the fact that this effort has been stalled right up to 2 days before Christmas and most everything across the country is coming to a halt, we encourage everyone to take a much needed break. Rest up and get ready to come back and make your voices heard next week. Use the next few days to rest and revive. We'll need all our energy as we move forward to the next steps in shining a light on the state of democracy. No one said it would be easy. It is time to remind our elected officials who pays the bills and that it is unacceptable to act above the law.
Thanks to each and everyone of you for tremendous work. And although we obviously have much more ahead, the more we refuse to give up and go away quietly, the stronger we are.
Please send your thoughts and ideas to recount@newmexico.com.
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