Voting questions? Work at the polls

REGARDING THE reader on June 15th who asked how election officials determine a voter’s citizenship: …

I wish the reader had taken the time to call the Bernalillo County Clerk’s office for clarification. He could have also read the state law, Section 1-4-5.7 NMSA 1978, to learn more about how same-day voter registration works. The following language from the law illustrates how the same-day-registrar is able to verify the voter’s citizenship/eligibility.

“… the secretary of state and the secretary of taxation and revenue shall develop a procedure for importing the list of eligible but unregistered persons with a driver’s license or state-issued identification card into the voter registration electronic management system prior to an election to facilitate processing a new voter registration pursuant to this section.”

I was an Election Day poll worker for the special election June 1 and for the 2020 presidential election.

The same-day-registration was a wonderful addition.

There were several voters who had recently moved across town, and they were able to update their home address then and there. This was super convenient for the voters. Same-day voter registration is an efficient way to keep the voter rolls updated and ensures voters receive the correct ballot for their address.

There has been an enormous amount of election misinformation lately. I would like to encourage anyone who lacks confidence in the integrity of our elections to become a poll worker. The training that we received from the Bernalillo County Clerk’s office was excellent, and the behind-the-scenes look at how our elections are conducted was very educational. It’s also a great way to connect with your community and a patriotic way to participate in our democracy.

ESTHER FREDRICKSON Albuquerque