Sep 8, 2026 · 26 min · 9 segments
Mason Graham, Policy Director, and Cesar Marquez, Organizer, of Common Cause NM discuss the threats to election integrity in NM and how to become involved in their Election Protection program.
Mason GrahamGuest
Marcela DiazHostCesar MarquezGuest
And even if the rules don't change significantly, this sort of back and forth of it could change, it's not going to change, it could change.
So if folks just watch CNN or Fox News, they hear about what the president is doing and what's happening at the federal level, but may not necessarily be keeping up on, oh, the changes here in New Mexico and what... you know, the secretary of state.
And I know this is going to sound terrible, but the vast majority of us know the names of our governor and they know the names of the president, but not so much our state legislator or our secretary of state or our treasurer or land commissioner.
I mean, those are things that organizations like ours in the ecosystem that do GOTV work, citizenship work and voter education work.
And so CESAD as an organizer going out and working with organizations like ours that are base building organizations and that do that GOTV and then doing the outreach yourself, how do you find people engaging with the changing nature of all of this? Are they confused? What's going on?
It is a challenge, you know, especially because of all the misinformation that's out there and now with social media and now with artificial intelligence.
A lot of times when I'm talking to people, they, you know, see a meme on Facebook or something and then they take it as like, oh, well, this is the truth now.
I mean, there's so many things that sometimes I'm like, I don't know what is the answer.
And so that's a little bit concerning because even like in this political circles bubble, whatever you want to call it, a lot of people still have questions.
And so when you extrapolate into like the folks who don't pay attention to this kind of stuff at all, you know, it is a bit concerning.
Now, I will say one of the things that I enjoy about, you know, living in New Mexico, working in New Mexico for about a year and a half is that there is like a big sense of community and folks here, you know, like the nonprofits, you know, We work very closely with each other.
And, you know, it's a big state physically, but it does feel kind of small in how tight a lot of these folks are.
And, you know, I've had a very pleasant experience working with the Secretary of State and the county clerks, you know, folks who really care.
As long as, you know, like we're all kind of aligned and coordinated, you know, can we get to all of them? Probably not.
And even if the rules don't change significantly, this sort of back and forth of it could change, it's not going to change, it could change.
So if folks just watch CNN or Fox News, they hear about what the president is doing and what's happening at the federal level, but may not necessarily be keeping up on, oh, the changes here in New Mexico and what... you know, the secretary of state.
And I know this is going to sound terrible, but the vast majority of us know the names of our governor and they know the names of the president, but not so much our state legislator or our secretary of state or our treasurer or land commissioner.
I mean, those are things that organizations like ours in the ecosystem that do GOTV work, citizenship work and voter education work.
And so CESAD as an organizer going out and working with organizations like ours that are base building organizations and that do that GOTV and then doing the outreach yourself, how do you find people engaging with the changing nature of all of this? Are they confused? What's going on?
It is a challenge, you know, especially because of all the misinformation that's out there and now with social media and now with artificial intelligence.
A lot of times when I'm talking to people, they, you know, see a meme on Facebook or something and then they take it as like, oh, well, this is the truth now.
I mean, there's so many things that sometimes I'm like, I don't know what is the answer.
And so that's a little bit concerning because even like in this political circles bubble, whatever you want to call it, a lot of people still have questions.
And so when you extrapolate into like the folks who don't pay attention to this kind of stuff at all, you know, it is a bit concerning.
Now, I will say one of the things that I enjoy about, you know, living in New Mexico, working in New Mexico for about a year and a half is that there is like a big sense of community and folks here, you know, like the nonprofits, you know, We work very closely with each other.
And, you know, it's a big state physically, but it does feel kind of small in how tight a lot of these folks are.
And, you know, I've had a very pleasant experience working with the Secretary of State and the county clerks, you know, folks who really care.
As long as, you know, like we're all kind of aligned and coordinated, you know, can we get to all of them? Probably not.
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