10-23-08, 4:56 pm

Voting rights groups demanded a criminal investigation this week into whether or not New Mexico's Bernalillo County Clerk's Office released confidential voter information to Republican Party operatives in violation of state privacy laws.

According to a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Wed., Oct. 22, local Republican Party officials released a press packet last week that contained photocopies of dozens of voter registration forms. Evidence on the completed forms showed that they were reviewed by the Bernalillo County Clerk's office before being handled by the Republican Party.

The ACLU said the evidence indicates that the completed voter registration forms were given to the Republicans by the Bernalillo County Clerk's Office.

New Mexico state law prohibits the release of voter registration materials to anyone other than the voter. If found guilty, officials at the County Clerk responsible for the transmission of sensitive documents could be charged with a 4th degree felony.

In a statement, ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson said, 'The evidence suggests to us a stunning disregard for the privacy of New Mexico voters and the laws of our state that ensure orderly elections.'

Simonson added that the apparent illegal release of such documents may constitute a form of voter intimidation. 'Voters should not have to fear that their identifying information is going to make its way into the hands of people who want to influence their vote or intimidate them into not voting at all,' he said.

Because the Republican Party officials handled the illegally obtained materials and distributed private information to the press, they are implicated in the matter as well. The Republicans distributed the material in an attempt to demonstrate voter fraud on the part of voter registration groups. While they produced no evidence of that, they did appear to jump into another scandal tying them to apparently illegal actions by someone at the County Clerk's office.

'We still do not know how the GOP obtained these registration forms, whether they might obtain more, and if someone in the County Clerk’s office is sharing the information with other parties,' Simonson said. 'The threat to voters’ privacy is imminent.'

In a letter to the state's Attorney General's office, the ACLU called for an investigation of the matter. 'We request,' the letter read, 'that you conduct an immediate investigation into the release of voters' information in violation of New Mexico state law. To the extent that your investigation uncovers that any federal laws have also been violated, we ask that your office refer the matter to the proper federal authorities.'

Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver denied providing the Republicans with the documents and suggested to other media outlets that another county clerk with access to the same database could have done so. She did agree, however, that an investigation into the matter is warranted.