Securing the Vote: Inside Election Integrity with New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver

In this episode of Democracy Fix, New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver joins hosts Dr. Carah Ong Whaley and Mia Minkin to discuss innovative strategies that election officials in her state are pursuing to increase election integrity. As Secretary Toulouse Oliver aptly states, "We build so many checks and balances into our processes it takes time…It's the mundane paint drying processes that ensure that our elections are accurate and that the outcomes are fair.” 

Secretary Toulouse Oliver demystifies the complexities of how elections work and underscores the crucial role each citizen plays in maintaining the integrity of our democracy. She shares how her office is recruiting and training poll workers, the critical need for consistent federal funding to safeguard our elections, and the threats posed by false information and the use of artificial intelligence and deepfake technologies. "The amount of misinformation and disinformation has been explosive. It's very hard to manage. You play whack-a-mole. In the next months leading up to the election, we're probably going to see more of it than ever before a presidential election,” says Secretary Toulouse Oliver.

Throughout our conversation, Secretary Toulouse Oliver emphasizes the importance of community involvement in the electoral process and highlights the resilience required to uphold democratic values in today's challenging political landscape. Tune in to hear more about what we can do, as Secretary Toulouse Oliver puts it, “to run as tight a ship as we can in this election year for our democracy to hold, for our institutions to hold, for this institution of voting to hold.”

Links in this episode: 

• New Mexico Secretary of State
• New Mexico Secretary of State AI Initiative
• Election Challengers, Watchers & Observers Information