This episode of the Perception Podcast will focus on trust in the election process—a topic that shapes how we view democracy itself.

Our conversation spotlights one of our clients Observe New Mexico Elections. Observe New Mexico Elections is a nonpartisan group working to build confidence through independent election observation across 11 municipalities statewide. The organization’s immediate focus is the 2025 Municipal Election.  It’s long term focus is on confidence in our election process.

Tom Garrity hosts this podcast which includes Carmen Lopez, co-leader of Observe New Mexico Elections, and Kelly Fajardo, a former state representative and member of Observe New Mexico Elections’ advisory committee.

Full Transcript

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:00:05] Welcome to the Perception Podcast from The Garrity Group, where we help small businesses to be heard and large organizations to be understood. I’m Tom Garrity. Today, we’re focusing on trust in the election process, a topic that shapes how we view democracy itself. Our conversation spotlights one of our clients, Observe New Mexico Elections. Observe New Mexico Elections is a nonpartisan group working to build confidence through independent election observation across 11 municipalities statewide. The organization’s immediate focus is the 2025 municipal election. Joining the Perception Podcast today, Carmen Lopez, co-leader of Observe New Mexico Elections, and Kelly Fajardo, a former state representative and member of Observe New Mexico Elections Advisory Committee. Welcome both Carmen and Kelly to the Perception Podcast.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:01:02] Carmen, let’s start with the big picture. For listeners who may not be familiar, what is Observe New Mexico elections and what inspired its creation?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader [00:01:12] So Observe New Mexico Elections is a nonprofit in New Mexico. We are funded by The Carter Center, the Jimmy and Roslyn Carter Center in Atlanta. And we’re concerned about the increase in both political polarization and the decline in trust and election outcomes. And so our goal is to increase people’s knowledge level about elections, the transparency of elections, and as a result, to increase the public’s level of trust in New Mexico’s elections. And we do that by providing in-depth training about election law and process to hundreds of New Mexicans each year and supporting nonpartisan observers to watch elections throughout the entire state during the voting process and then throughout all the various election processes. And then we compile all that data into a final report that we share with the public. And we’re led by an amazing board of high profile, accomplished people from across the political spectrum who care deeply about well-run elections and people’s trust in election outcomes. Our board is led by former Governor Gary Carruthers, former Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court, Barbara Vihel, Ryan Cangiolosi, who is the chair of the Republican Party, Maureen Sanders, who’s a civil rights attorney, and Kelly Fajardo, who’s a former representative, and Leonard Gorman from the Navajo Nations Civil Rights Division.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:02:39] It’s a it’s a great board, including Kelly Fajardo. And Kelly, from your perspective as a former state legislator and current lobbyist, why did you decide to join Observe New Mexico Elections Advisory Committee? And what makes the initiative important to you?

Kelly Fajardo, ONME Advisory Committee [00:02:55] I joined because of personal experience. So when I first started when I first ran for office back in 2012, there was a lot of distrust of the election process. A lot of it continues today. And back in the day down in Valencia County, me and my colleagues, we decided to put poll watchers into the different polls around the county. And there was kind of an uproar among folks on the other side of the aisle. So the following election, they put they put their own poll challengers in the all the polls. And what up happening is both sides, when I’d walk in and drop off food and things like that, they were just sitting at a table talking. And so it was it came from this like, well, if you’re gonna be there, we need to be there. All of a sudden, when they were both there, it became like, you know, it created almost like a unity. And they were hanging out together, talking, joking, and things like that. So those personal experiences actually, when I got invited to join the board, is what drove me to it

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:04:03] Observe New Mexico Elections’ approach really focuses on transparency. Why is independent observation such a key piece in building trust with voters?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader [00:04:15] So the presence of independent observers improves con confidence in election outcomes. There are decades of data from mostly international sites over the last several decades showing that. And then in New Mexico from last year. So the presence of independent observers improves confidence in election outcomes when elections are even reasonably well run. Our elections in New Mexico are very well run.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:04:43] You know, Observe New Mexico elections is training and positioning more than forty early voting observers and over a hundred and fifty election day observers across eleven municipalities that include Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Gallup, and Taos. How do you determine, Carmen, where to focus your efforts this year?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader [00:05:03] Well, this year most counties are running regular local elections. And so they’re nonpartisan elections, and the races that are included for voters to choose from this year are a lot of mayoral candidates, a lot of city council candidates, school board elections, and bond questions and not partisan races, but all of the nonpartisan local races. So we wanted to have a geographic and a population balance. We wanted to cover both urban and rural areas and then ensure representative coverage. So we have 11 municipalities ranging from Clayton to Albuquerque to Las Cruces to Gallup to Farmington. So we have you know, we have sites all over the state where folks are just observing their local polling locations next to their houses and able to observe the way that elections work.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:06:05] And can you speak to the training that the observers receive?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader [00:06:09] Sure. So the folks that observe all of the election processes get a minimum of 20 hours of training in what it looks like when what a poll worker training should look like, what the machine certification should look like, what the vote by mail counting looks like, and what county canvas looks like. And then for the folks that are observing actual early voting and election day voting, they get one day of in-person training about both what election law and process looks like, what they should see when they’re in the polling place, but also very importantly what their orientation to observing should look like. And it’s very important that the orientation to observing is one of non-interference, one of not helping, one of not intervening, one of not criticizing, but one of simply observing and then taking note of what you see so that we can then compile all of that data and release that publicly and make sure that we’re not getting in the way of anyone voting and that we’re not in any way getting in the way of the poll worker’s ability to run good elections.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:07:20] So on election day, what does a an observer’s day look like?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader [00:07:25] Well, they will get there likely at 6 30 in the morning, and they will watch the opening process of the polls, and then they will watch folks vote all day long. Well, they’ll watch folks check in. They’ll pay attention to the way that ballots are treated and stored and handled. They’ll pay attention to you know, ballots being inserted into the counters, when the polling close when the polling place closes, and very importantly, the whole closing procedure, which is very detailed and very important in New Mexico and in every other state.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:08:04] And Kelly, local elections often fly under the radar compared to statewide races. From your time in public service, what makes these local election efforts so critical?

Kelly Fajardo, ONME Advisory Committee [00:08:15] Well, traditionally speaking, when you have the local elections have a lower voter turnout. And I’m not sure if the listeners are aware, but about six to eight years ago, we passed some legislation where we combined all these small local elections. You used to have the school board and that it was different in every county. You had the soil water conservation district, you had all these different elections that were going on, and decisions were made by just a few hundred people who even knew about the elections existed. So now the voters can expect every single November to have an election. So those who are out voting, if they haven’t voted already, you’re gonna see on your ballot, you’re gonna see the school board elections, you’re gonna see the what sol soil and water conservation district, the mayor, city council, all of these things now are combined to one, which is great, but that also creates a little bit of confusion to the voter. So having that transparency and that accountability, I think is really important and having knowing somebody is there, making sure that it’s run correctly is also just as just as important because these types of elections that are happening every November, they’re kind of new. They haven’t been around forever. So and there’s still a few counties like Rio Rancho who still do their mayoral election elections different from everybody else. But overall, these smaller elections, they they still matter and they can be decided in I mean, five or six votes make a difference. Where larger elections you’re looking more at the hundreds.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:09:48] And in a way too, it it provides more visibility for some elections that people typically wouldn’t be involved in. You know, let’s say a school board election or a trustee election. But yeah, so that’s great. Carmen, one of Observed New Mexico elections deliverables is a post election report that highlights both the strengths and areas for improvement. What do you hope to learn from this process?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader [00:10:13] So last year we released a report after we compiled all of the data from folks across the state. And it was it was so heartening to meet with county clerks and the Secretary of State afterwards. Folks were very interested in what other counties were doing well and differently, and any best practices that that they might learn. And then I think from the public’s perspective, learning about how elections work and what works well, and then what the procedural inconsistencies may be that need to be shifted before the next election. I think promoting best practices and talking about what’s working and talking about what needs to work better. And then we will release a report by the end of this year that compiles all of the data from the 165 observations that likely will have taken place at this point, at that point. And we’ll do that before the end of the year.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:11:11] And there’s actually a report from last election, from the general election that’s already online. Where can people find that report?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader [00:11:19] So we can find it at observe nm elections dot org and the report and the executive summary up there are up there and share a lot of what we learned last year.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:11:31] And you know, you mentioned this earlier, but just to kind of bring it back, observe New Mexico election observers just observe. They don’t interfere. How do you ensure that neutrality while still being effective?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader [00:11:47] I think that treating our volunteer vetting process as though we were interviewing people for a job makes a huge difference and asking people about why they’re interested in this project and what their orientation toward observing is. So I think the vetting process and then I think the training process where we talk to people about their orientation in the workplace and the very important work that is happening of people voting and of elections being run, and that the work that we’re doing is really secondary to that. And so it’s important that we watch, but that we don’t in any way get involved or obstruct.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:12:24] And Kelly, how can these findings help policymakers or local officials strengthen voter confidence from their perspective?

Kelly Fajardo, ONME Advisory Committee [00:12:32] Being a polic policymaker and being in the legislature, anytime we have any type of bill that comes with with with voting, election days, you know, it doesn’t matter. There’s there’s always the rumor mill. I mean, there’s so many things, even election day, you’re getting phone calls, you’re hearing this is what’s happening in Las Cruces, this is what’s happening in Sandoval County. And it’s come it’s happened on both sides. One party does does it, you know, have any more than the other. But having just a third party go in and do a report, it actually does help help us as poly policymakers to be able to have a third party to rely on when making these really complex decisions. And s and so it’s just and you’re not dealing with with with partisanship. It’s a report, and it’s really helps with that.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:13:19] Election trust can be a sensitive subject. Carmen, what challenges have you faced in launching and growing this program, whether it’s logistical, political or perception based?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader [00:13:32] The allowance for nonpartisan observers in the polling place is fairly new in New Mexico. So a law was passed in the last couple of years that allowed that. So when we had folks out in 29 counties last year, it was the first time any of those folks had nonpartisan observers in in the vote by mail counting, in the election processes. The county clerks and the polling judges and poll workers are used to the partisan observers being present during the during voting. However, it was just new. It was a new it was a new concept. So we had lots of questions and we got to interact with people and we did make a point of meeting with every county clerk and meeting with the Secretary of State, and then doing as much as we could to educate the public about our orientation and about our interest and about the outcomes that we’re seeking. And I think that treating our program with a very high level of transparency so that folks can see what questions we’re asking, what we’re doing, what our process is, I think is been important for building trust with the public and with the officials that are running elections.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:14:57] And Kelly what do you think are the biggest misconceptions that voters have about how elections actually work and how how can observation efforts really help dispel those myths?

Kelly Fajardo, ONME Advisory Committee [00:15:11] Well, back in the day before I was elected, I was actually a poll challenger. And so it was definitely an experience. You know, I don’t think people really understand how systematic everything is. You know, when the when the day starts, when the machines open, there’s a count. As the day goes through, there’s a count. It’s very scientific, it’s very regulated. It’s not a a free-for-all. And so I think that’s the what people tend to forget. And at the end of the day, it’s the same thing. It’s very calculated. The reports come out. In my own personal election, I actually had a a my election was decided on provisional ballots. And so that was a very complex system. And so I was had the opportunity to be in the room when they were doing the pro provisional ballots. This isn’t one person sitting there doing the count. This is a group of people from both sides of the party, pe people from the clerk’s office doing these things, taking count. It’s very, it’s very calculated. And there’s a lot of things that people talk about missing boxes and things like that. That’s the other thing I think is great about having the third party is to dispel some of those other things going on. And so yeah, it I guess it’s because people don’t know how fine-tuned, how calculated everything is.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:16:29] You meant you a a phrase you mentioned in in in your last response was poll challenger. Difference between a poll challenger and a pole observer.

Kelly Fajardo, ONME Advisory Committee [00:16:40] Yeah, there’s so we have poll watchers and poll challengers, which we’ve had for a while. A poll watcher just watches, a poll challenger can actually go and and and argue, like say no, you know, you know, and challenge the vote, so to speak. A poll watcher cannot. And what this is is a is a poll observer. So it’s a whole different thing. You can actually have three now in in the election process in any given poll poll or polling location. But they all have they all serve a different purpose. All of them are very valid, but they all serve a different purpose.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:17:14] Interesting. Thank you for that. You know, when one of the things that we do at the Gardy Group is the annual perception survey. We’re working on some information for observed New Mexico elections. But in in preparing that information, it was just really interesting to me to see how trust has changed but yet remained the same in in many respects over the years. In 2012, the trust of state elected officials was at twenty percent, whereas federal officials were twenty-one percent. Fast forward to twenty twenty-five, you went from twenty percent in twenty twelve to nineteen percent in twenty nine in twenty twenty five, nineteen percent, and then to seventeen percent, and so that’s down four points from twenty twelve. How important is the perception of elected officials in really building up trust of the electoral process?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader [00:18:17] So I think this is really why we are interested in this conversation and doing this work in the state, because our board and our staff care deeply about the institutions in New Mexico. We care deeply about the public’s trust. And it really starts with elections. If you don’t trust the outcomes of elections, then it’s really hard to trust public officials. If it’s hard to trust public officials, then it’s hard to trust institutions. And we want to live in a society where we can operate and trust our community members, where we can trust our agencies to do the right thing and where we can trust our elected officials. And I think elections are really the basic start to all of that.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group I know the focus is on the twenty twenty five municipal election. However, what’s next for observed New Mexico elections after this cycle? Any plans to expand or move forward?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader  Yes. So next year we’re interested in observing in all 33 counties in New Mexico. We’re also interested in helping other states around the country who are interested in starting nonpartisan election monitoring programs such as Montana and Georgia and Michigan and Nevada. So we’ll be offering assistance where it’s asked for. And then in New Mexico, I’d like to I’d like to see us build deeper and more longer term partnerships with civic organizations around the state, with interfaith organizations, with rotary clubs, with with organizations that have with the United Way, with organizations that that care deeply about their communities and that care about the civic engagement of folks in their communities.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group And Kelly, for listeners inspired by what they’re hearing, how can they get involved?

Kelly Fajardo, ONME Advisory Committee  So that’s a great question. So definitely so sign up, go to observe new Mexico Elections dot org. That’s the word absorb observe and then N M N M for New Mexico and then elections.org. And I do want to encourage everybody, this will this governor’s race that’s come that’ll be happening next year will be the first race where those who are independents can actually vote. So if you’re an independent, you can you can actually walk in and vote during a primary election, which is really going to change how elections are done in this state. A lot of elect states have the open primary system. This is the first time New Mexico is going to have it. So the great thing also about the observe New Mexico is generally speaking, when you talk about poll challengers and poll watchers, they are partisans. So if you’re an independent, this is also a great opportunity for you to get and get involved with observing these because it’s gonna really make a difference and it’s gonna be a very interesting lesson. I think there’s gonna be a lot of lessons to learn, you know, this coming up primary next June. But yet definitely get involved.

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group Carmen, any closing thoughts on why trust, something we talk a lot about here at about perception, is so vital to the health of our democracy?

Carmen Lopez, ONME Co-Leader  When people trust the process, they engage and they have the very real possibility of being represented. And I think transparency and observation are tools that build unity and that build confidence in our communities, in our elections, and our public officials, and in our society.

Kelly Fajardo, ONME Advisory Committee  Thank you. I mean, I’m really excited to to to be on the board. I’m excited to see what’s gonna happen. Things are really gonna it I New Mexico, I really do believe that we’ve set a high standard in our state. And so it’s gonna be interesting to to to see that

Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group [00:23:54] Carmen Lopez and Kelly Fajardo, thank you so much for joining us and for the work that you’re doing through Observe New Mexico elections to strengthen public trust in our democratic process. To learn more about Observe New Mexico elections, visit observenelection.org. Thank you for listening to the Perception Podcast. If you enjoyed today’s podcast episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who values informed participation in our elections. On behalf of the Garrity Group, where we help small businesses to be heard and large organizations to be understood, I’m Tom Garrity. Have a great day.