DURAN: Lawmakers criticize secrecy of inquiry. Photo Credit - Dean Hanson/Journal
Secretary of State Dianna Duran told a panel of lawmakers Friday that she has no political agenda in investigating 64,000 irregularities in the state’s voter file and wants only to ensure its “accuracy and integrity.”
Democrats on the Legislature’s interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee still challenged Duran, a Republican, on her methods and secrecy during a three-hour hearing in Albuquerque.
Duran has not been criticized for efforts to clean up the data file for more than 1.1 million registered voters in New Mexico, but her initial characterization of those efforts as a voter fraud investigation — and then bringing in the State Police to help — have drawn criticism from Democratic legislators and advocacy groups.
Duran said Friday that “misunderstandings” in the news media were the main cause of confusion about her intentions. However, some of her statements Friday appeared to conflict with her former characterizations of the investigation.
“I’m hopeful that with your assistance we can tell people this is not a witch hunt, this is not a fishing expedition, it’s not against county clerks,” Duran said. “This is an effort by your secretary of state, who believes she has a responsibility not only to you, but all citizens of the state of New Mexico, to assure accuracy and integrity of the voter file going into this next election cycle.”
When Duran revealed the existence of her investigation in a March 15 legislative committee hearing, she told lawmakers there was a darker side to voter file questions — although she emphasized that her office was still investigating and her data were “preliminary.”
“I think everybody in this room should be concerned to hear that our elections have been compromised,” Duran said at the March 15 hearing, referring to her office’s findings that 37 people who obtained licenses while they were not citizens had later registered to vote and voted in elections between 2003 and 2010.
“We can tell you today … that we believe that those persons, who are not eligible voters, have been voting in New Mexico elections. We can show that,” Duran said on March 15.
County clerks and other election experts have pointed out that those people could have achieved citizenship after obtaining licenses and been legally eligible to vote.
Fraud questions
Duran said in an interview after the hearing Friday that her characterization of the investigation in March was in direct response to questions about voter fraud from state legislators and that she was trying to convey that she wanted to improve accuracy in the voter file.
The state voter file contains names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and other personal information for every registered voter in the state. Duran contends that, to her knowledge, information in the file has never been checked for accuracy. Names on the file are purged regularly, however.
Duran, during the hearing, defended her office’s decision to keep many of the details of her investigation secret, saying she will release more information once the investigation is complete.
Rep. Eliseo Lee Alcon, D-Milan, said that if State Police are investigating names on the voter registration list, the people being investigated have a right to know about it.
“If my name were on that list, I’d like to know. I hate this KGB stuff,” Alcon said, adding that Duran’s office is “running around in the dark investigating people’s registration and not letting anybody know who they are investigating.”
Rep. Bill O’Neill, D-Albuquerque, asked Duran to explain her use of “executive privilege” to keep some interoffice communications regarding the investigation secret. The practice was criticized by Republicans during the administration of former Gov. Bill Richardson, who left office in January.
Duran said she used executive privilege to redact, or black out, documents in public records on the advice of a former office lawyer who was assigned by the Attorney General’s Office. She said the executive privilege claim was “temporary.”
Investigation secrecy
Republican Sen. Rod Adair of Roswell defended Duran on investigation secrecy.
“I’m dumbfounded at the number of people, I guess in the media, who want all of this information so they can just publish the names and potentially invade the privacy of hundreds if not thousands of New Mexico citizens,” said Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell.
However, she also heavily redacted correspondence between officials in state agencies, claiming that release would interfere with the decision-making process.
Rep. Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque, told Duran she did not believe the voter file irregularities should have been turned over to State Police. She said New Mexico statute allows Duran to go to the attorney general or a district attorney if she sees evidence of fraud, who could in turn initiate a law enforcement investigation.
Other Democrats complained that turning the files over to State Police gave people the impression that it was a criminal investigation aimed at finding illegal immigrants.
Letter to State Police
Duran said she turned to State Police because it has unique tools to help her sort out the irregular files. While the investigation is not currently criminal, she said, the State Police could follow through if evidence of fraud is found.
“I’ve never alleged that all 64,000 records were turned over for criminal action,” Duran said.
In a March 25 letter to State Police officials signed by Duran, however, she characterized police involvement as a criminal investigation.
“At the request of Secretary (Gorden) Eden or the Department of Public Safety, we are enclosing materials for criminal investigation by your agency,” Duran said in the letter.
Sen. John Ryan, R-Albuquerque, said Friday that he believes the public will have a chance to double-check Duran’s investigation methods and agenda once it is complete. Until then, he said, she should be left to do her job.
“I think you are doing it right,” Ryan said. “And I think we ought to let you do it without interfering and saying that you are not doing it correct, you’re doing things that you shouldn’t be.”
Duran said her investigation will take more time and she has no estimate on when it will conclude.
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal
Reprint story -- Email the reporter at solson@abqjournal.com.
