Last March, New Mexico adopted the New Mexico Voting Rights Act, establishing that anyone convicted of a felony can vote as long as they are not incarcerated, including while they are still on probation and parole. When the law went into effect in July 2023, making New Mexico one of 25 states where at least anyone who is not presently incarcerated has the right to vote, it was cause for celebration for the voting rights organizations that championed the reform for years. But in the time since, they have run into many people who told them they were denied their rights, Bolts Magazine reports. While working to register newly eligible voters, organizers identified nearly 1,000 people with a felony conviction who had tried to register to vote online or in the mail but were incorrectly rejected. They sounded the alarm, but it wasn’t until they filed a lawsuit last month that state officials took action to fix the problem and ensure that the people affected will be able to vote in November. By that time, they had already missed out on voting in the June primary.
Voting rights advocates are hopeful the state’s adjustments will be enough to renew confidence among those who were wrongly refused, but some say they’ve had to work overtime to make up for the damage the state has already inflicted. “They could have done this a year ago, and not cause the confusion or the strain on a population, which is already vulnerable because they’re impacted,” Selinda Guerrero, director of prisoner advocacy for the organization Millions for Prisoners New Mexico, told Bolts. “They’re humiliated because they’ve already tried and been told no and turned away and told you don’t belong here.” Justin Allen, an activist with Millions for Prisoners who is formerly incarcerated and testified for the reform in the legislature, put it bluntly: “It’s been a year of frustration.”
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