BY ANDREA DETERMAN
Los Alamos
Former Chair of Los Alamos Democratic Party

Secretary of State is an operations job. It requires judgment, transparency, preparation, and leadership when pressure is highest.

On Monday, a State Auditor-directed special audit documented governance and transparency failures in Doña Ana County government, including findings involving the Clerk’s Office. Auditors identified incomplete official records, missing supporting documents, and transparency failures that reduced the public’s ability to access the full record of county decisions. Corrective action is now required, including strengthening official records practices and ensuring the Clerk fulfills one of the most basic responsibilities of the office: attending Board of County Commission meetings or sending a designee.

At the same time, Amanda Lopez Askin has publicly acknowledged stepping away from election administration when she is on the ballot. In practice, because Doña Ana County clerks appear on the ballot during presidential years, that means stepping away during presidential primary and general elections — the largest, highest-turnout, and most consequential elections counties administer.

All 32 other New Mexico county clerks manage elections while appearing on the ballot.

And voters should ask an obvious question: what has the result been? In three of the last four major elections, Doña Ana County results were not completed until the next day. When leadership steps back during the moments that matter most, performance matters.

Voters have also seen repeated controversy, lawsuits involving county operations, and even a county canvassing commission that nearly failed to certify Doña Ana County’s election.

The choice is clear – vote for Katharine Clark to be our next Secretary of State!

Editor’s note: The Los Alamos Reporter has not fact-checked this letter