Vigil-Giron: I'm Doing Job the Correct Way

Seriously, that's the title of the Secretary of State's op-ed from this past Saturday's Albuquerque Journal. Needless to say, some may disagree.

From the Albuquerque Journal:

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Vigil-Giron: I'm Doing Job the Correct Way

By Rebecca Vigil-Giron
Secretary of State
A recent Journal editorial distorted the facts on a number of election reform initiatives by my office. I would like to provide your readers with a true accounting.
The Journal implied that our state lacks an electronic campaign finance reporting system. I am pleased to report that such a system is already in place. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, more than 550 officeholders and candidates successfully filed their reports electronically for the first time!
Granted, what is not in place is the additional online capability for the public to do sophisticated research queries that would allow users to more easily search and retrieve campaign finance data. Such a capability is slated to be available in the next few months.
In the meantime, anyone wanting to do campaign finance research can do so by logging onto my agency's Web site. There they will find copies of the entire contents of all reports received by my office. I also invite anyone to personally visit my Santa Fe office, which many citizens have already done.
However, before a searchable database can be added to our current system, it must have sufficient safeguards to protect the integrity of the data we receive. Developing the software to make electronic reporting as secure as possible is an important fiduciary responsibility and one that I will not compromise. It is for that reason that I have mandated rigorous technical requirements on our software vendor, requiring cutting-edge technology to ensure unsurpassed data protection.
Our online system allows for an almost instantaneous means to monitor the flow of money in politics in New Mexico.
It has provided political candidates and committees with a more efficient and standardized way to file their reports. It has provided a less expensive and burdensome way for our agency to store campaign finance data. It has provided law enforcement agencies with a more accurate way to monitor compliance. And it has provided the public with a quicker way to access election information.
The Journal veers off into a totally unrelated subject to allege that I "managed to shoot plenty of television commercials under the guise of voter education."
If the Journal had more thoroughly investigated the requirements of the Help America Vote Act, it would have discovered that states are required to establish voter education programs in order to comply with the law. HAVA mandates that state chief elections officials throughout the country use any available means, including electronic media, to educate citizens on literally every aspect of voting, from voter registration to casting absentee or provisional ballots.
If you will remember, there was extensive reporting by this paper and other media outlets a couple of years ago when the federal Elections Assistance Commission (EAC), in response to a politically motivated complaint, reviewed these same public service announcements. By contrast, there was little follow-up reporting after the EAC issued its findings.
The EAC, made up of two Republicans and two Democrats, not only found our voter education program permissible under HAVA, but commended our office for the effectiveness of our non-partisan voter outreach campaign and our meticulous record-keeping.
Not coincidentally, the television and radio public service announcements that my office aired in 2004 helped to increase by 26 percent voter turnout with a 70 percent total turnout of eligible registered voters, the highest in recent history. During that election, there were more than 160,000 new voters. And for the first time ever, more than 50 percent of New Mexico voters cast their ballots through absentee, early voting or provisional ballot.
An added benefit of our voter education programs is that there were very few problems on Election Day because voters and election officials knew their rights and the process of voting. It should come as no surprise that our voter education programs have been nationally-recognized as one of the most successful in the entire country.
Finally, since first being elected Secretary of State in 1987, I have strongly supported initiatives to increase public disclosure of campaign finance information. The public can be assured that I will do everything in my power to make reporting by officeholders and candidates, including the inspection of those reports by the public, as convenient as possible.

Comments

[Edge]

I am sorry Rebecca, but your ads were self-serving and that was quite obvious.

In my opinion, you failed the voters of New Mexico and your constituency (the entire State).

I believe, your problems that have met the public's eye in the media and elsewhere are only the tip of the iceberg. One day the entirety of your problematic tenure will meet the light of day and that will result in a meltdown of what's left of your reputation (which is also well past due).