MEDIA ADVISORY
'For Immediate Release
What: PACE New Mexico and others join the Lopategui vs. Vigil-Giron lawsuit. Santiago Juarez, Executive Director of PACE
New Mexico and other community leaders to speak. Attorneys to plaintiffs respond to the Governor’s election reform
initiative.
When: Thursday, January 12, 2006, 1:30 PM
Where: The Rotunda - New Mexico State Capitol Building.
January 11, 2006, Santa Fe- Six plaintiffs are to be added to the Lopategui vs. Vigil-Giron lawsuit in a motion to amend
the complaint to be filed January 12, 2006. The lawsuit seeks to enjoin use of electronic voting systems responsible for
inaccurate and unverifiable results in the last election and before. The new plaintiffs are PACE New Mexico, Voter
Action New Mexico, Linda Yardley from Taos Pueblo, Joyce Bartley of Albuquerque, Marilyn Ernest of Las Vegas, and
Michael Withnall, also of Las Vegas. Mr. Withnall is legally blind and joined the lawsuit due to his desire for equal
access to verifiable voting. “As a visually impaired voter, I have always had difficulty with voting and am strongly in
favor of paper ballots that voters like myself can mark and verify with a voter assist device. Only paper ballots are
truly verifiable and auditable. I believe I should be entitled to the same access to verifiable voting as a non-visually
impaired voter”.
PACE New Mexico - the Progressive Alliance for Community Empowerment - helped with voter registration across the state
and particularly in South Albuquerque which saw high numbers of undervote rates when voters voted on electronic voting
machines versus low undervotes on paper ballots form those same precincts. “We have been on the sidelines of this issue
way too long. Speaking as a lawyer, the evidence is overwhelming that something is awry. We cannot justify our presence
in the community requesting democratic response if we cannot assure them and ourselves that our votes will be counted in
a way that is accurate and verifiable .” said Santiago Juarez, Executive Director of PACE.
Voter Action is a project of the International Humanities Center
Contact: Holly Jacobson / Voter Action 206 769 7185
Santiago Juarez / PACE New Mexico 505 927 2734