Maggie Toulouse Oliver

2020 was a long year. We don't have to tell you. It was a constant barrage of reality-shaping events, and it hasn’t stopped. What is different for us now that we are on the verge of—maybe, knock on wood—coming out of the pandemic? How are the leaders we elected approaching their duties now? How are activists applying what they’ve learned to push their causes forward? How are the people who experienced hardship pre-pandemic adapting to a possible post-pandemic life? No More Normal reflects on last year while keeping our focus on the future.

Election Day 2020 was unique amid the COVID-19 pandemic with historic statewide turnout and record-high absentee ballots cast in New Mexico. Alex Curtas, Communications Director for New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, said Wednesday, Nov. 4, that only a small amount of absentee ballots remain uncounted across the state and that no distruptions at the polls were reported. 

Tuesday, Nov. 3, is Election Day and despite record turnout during early voting in New Mexico, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver says there may still be long lines at the polls. 

With a record number of absentee ballots requested in New Mexico, there are questions about how long it will take to find out the results of the 2020 election. State election officials say they’re hopeful they’ll have a final tally within a couple days of Election Day.

Voting by mail is underway in New Mexico and across the country, and President Trump’s false claims about election fraud have raised anxiety about the security of absentee ballots. His campaign has also called for an “army” of poll watchers, stoking fears of interference by armed far-right groups. No More Normal host Khalil Ekulona spoke with New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver about prohibitions against voter intimidation and how she’s confident that ballots mailed by Oct. 27 will be counted as they should.

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.

Early voting has already started in some states like Pennsylvania and Michigan. In New Mexico, absentee ballots will start going out October 6 and early voting starts October 17. KUNM’s Kaveh Mowahed spoke with Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who said folks can avoid a busy polling place by requesting an absentee ballot by October 20.

The Postal Service is experiencing delays as we approach a November election that may see an unprecedented number of ballots cast by mail. Some voters are worried, but both the U.S. Postal Service and New Mexico election regulators say voters should feel confident dropping their ballots in the mail. 

Do you have faith in the systems? How has government response to the pandemic eroded or reinforced that for you? It seemed important back in what we collectively refer to as “normal times.” But what have public officials done to instill our faith? In Episode 69, we talk about the long list of pre-pandemic ills that plague us during this plague. We talk with the secretary of state about what it takes for politicians to keep voters invested and journalists about why there is a lack of faith—and whether it can be restored. 

Early voting in New Mexico’s primary election has begun, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, election officials are urging anyone who can vote to stay away from the polls and use absentee ballots. Registered voters can request an absentee ballot at NMvote.org through May 28, and in order to be counted it has to reach the county clerk’s office by 7pm on June 2.

Episode 49 is all about the elections that are still coming up and the 2020 census. Advocates tell us that New Mexico is hard to count because it's big, area-wise, and because plenty of communities are intentionally discouraged from filling it out through fear tactics. The census determines how much federal funding comes to the state for all kinds of programs over the next 10 years, and it's how voting districts are determined. If brown and black communities around the U.S. don't participate in the census, advocates tell us, their political power is diluted. 

In episode 43, we talk about how not everybody's at home waiting out the pandemic. We hear from people around the state who are still employed and in public—but who don't make a lot of money—about their working conditions, their support from their employers and their fears about the virus.

4/20 12p: This week in women's headline news, the first female astronaut candidate in the U.S. died. We have a remembrance.Also in this week's news: Protests erupt in Bangladesh over the death of a woman murdered after she refused to drop sexual harassment charges against her Islamic school prinicpal; police in Northern Ireland arrest two teens in the death of journalist Lyra McKee; the trial of female activists in Saudi Arabia postponed; Ivanka Trump visits Ivory Coast as part of USAID $2M pledge to help women in cocoa industry; women will be included in Taliban delegation during peace talks for the first time; Congressional hearing set for April 30 on Equal Rights Amendment, the first such hearing in in 36 years; New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver to pursue Senate seat; lawsuit against New Mexico Corrections says officers sexually abuse inmate.

Eligible New Mexicans would be automatically registered to vote at Department of Motor Vehicles offices under a bill that lawmakers advanced Monday. 

Bernalillo County Clerk Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver is running become New Mexico’s next Secretary of State.

Oliver sat down for a conversation with Gwyneth Doland, as part of KUNM’s special election overage with New Mexico PBS.  Her Republican opponent, state lawmaker Nora Espinoza declined multiple interview requests.

Amber Royster is a sixth-generation New Mexican and Navy veteran who served in the Iraq War and was deployed twice overseas. She said Bernalillo County’s advisory mental health ballot question and the secretary of state’s race are her main interests this year.

She’s a registered Green Party member, and said she generally prefers to vote on issues instead of candidates. She’s voting for Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver for secretary of state because that office can allow direct issues-based questions onto the polls.