From the time she was a child in her home town of Taos, Rebecca Vigil-Giron was active in her community - first as a Girl Scout, then later as a student at Taos High School. She had never run for political office before, but in the mid-1980s, while she was working as a secretary for PNM, she decided it was time to do something bigger for New Mexico.

In 1986, Vigil-Giron ran for the office of New Mexico Secretary of State - and won. She was elected on a platform of election reform, a mission for which she continues to fight.

At the time of her election, New Mexico had the second-most restrictive voter registration requirements in the United States. Voters were required to register a full 46 days prior to election day to be eligible to vote. (Only Arizona had more restrictive laws with a 50-day registration requirement.)

The problem with such restrictive requirements is that voter interest generally does not begin until about two weeks prior to any election. By that time, it was too late to register.

Vigil-Giron campaigned for the law to be amended to a 14-day minimum registration period, but New Mexico legislators compromised by reducing the registration requirement to 28 days prior to election day, which is the current law.

In 1990, Vigil-Giron's term as secretary of state was over. New Mexico law at that time did not permit state officials to run for consecutive terms, so Vigil-Giron ran for Congress. After winning a close race in the primary, she lost the general election. Not allowing that political defeat to undermine her personal mission as advocate of election reform, she ran for office again in 1998 and was elected for a second term as secretary of state.

As the highest-ranking elected Hispanic woman state official in the United States, Vigil-Giron is second in line (after the Lieutenant Governor) to succeed the office of Governor. Her duties as secretary of state are ongoing and varied. She affixes the state seal to all commissions issued by the Governor. In the legislative session of every odd-numbered year, she presides over the state House of Representatives until a Speaker of the House is elected. She also maintains those oft-unseen records of New Mexico commerce and industry, such as trademark and service mark filings, records of loans secured through financial institutions, and a listing of all state notaries.

The Woman Behind the Vote But her most visible and essential role is that of chief election officer in which Vigil-Giron heads our state's voter registration, education, and electoral process. For this role, she prepares an annual electoral budget and presents it to the Department of Finance Analysts and the Legislative Finance Analysts.

to provide elections, and I've got to have enough money to pay for those elections. They need to know that the numbers I'm presenting are based on the number of registered voters," said Vigil-Giron, who recently enacted a system that will make this imperative work more seamlessly.

In her last two legislative sessions, Vigil-Giron secured $2.5 million from the state legislature to fund a centralized voter registration and elections management system that allows New Mexico's 33 counties to send updated information on voters immediately. Vigil-Giron coordinates efforts to get even the most remote of our state's counties online with this centralized system. Her primary role in keeping the state's election process on track is "preparing the dollars to fit the tasks."

Our secretary of state is recognized as a national leader in election reform. An eleventh generation New Mexican, Vigil-Giron's strong state roots inform this primary electoral duty. She's dedicated to moving New Mexico voter participation and education into the 21st century.

Vigil-Giron speaks with enthusiasm and pride of New Mexico's high rankings in the electoral process. "We're one of the top five states in voting systems," she explains. "There's direct recording equipment, full face ballots, and optical scanning machines for absentee voters." For the next election, Vigil-Giron expects to have more touch screen voting devices.

The touch screen is one part of the latest model of electoral instruments that address the multiple needs of New Mexico's voters. By supplying different means of voting, these devices open the electoral process to a greater diversity of voters: hearing impaired have the ease of a touch interface; seeing impaired have the option of audio headsets; and, non-English speaking voters can access the electoral information in up to 19 different languages.

"New Mexico has 19 pueblos and three reservations," says Vigil-Giron. "With this type of voting machine system, we can provide translations of a ballot in Navajo, in three or four of the pueblo languages, and in the languages spoken by the Apache tribes. We can provide the information in Spanish. We can provide the information in English."

New Technology Not Enough Vigil-Giron acknowledges that all the gee-whiz voting contraptions aren't enough. "We provide every type of voting system and option. Now we need to provide a reason [to vote]."

This more psychological aspect of voting motivated Vigil-Giron to form Mobilize Voter Participation 2000, or MVP, a group of over 150 public officials who went into their community schools to explain the essence of their daily work. "[They went] into the classrooms in their communities ... and talked about what their responsibilities are as public officials. 'This is how your tax dollars are affecting what I do every day on my job. This is what I do for you as the mayor or the county commissioner.'"

Vigil-Giron also finds strategies to familiarize younger generations with the mechanics of the voting process. For example, state voting machines can be used in high schools during student elections. There have been student/parent mock elections. And New Mexico students participated in the national Internet voting during the 2000 presidential election.

Recognizing that lack of voter education is the biggest barrier to voter participation, Vigil-Giron foresees a time when New Mexico schools incorporate social studies curriculums into each grade. "We need to connect people to the whole process," she says. "Citizenship is one of the pillars of Character Counts, and it centers on participating in community."

Such cognizance of the government system connects voters to the people they elect, showing them the means and methods of how to use their public officers to effect the changes their communities need. It's a cognizance Vigil-Giron endeavors to promote in a diverse range of voters - our youth and elders, as well as the host of cultures represented in New Mexico.

The Land of Enchantment, Diversity, and Efficiency According to Vigil-Giron, New Mexico is the only state with a constitution mandating electoral information be provided in both Spanish and English. It is this nascent spirit of accommodation that she continues to incorporate in each step forward. During election time, radio stations air voting information in English, panish, and Native American languages.

Vigil-Giron acknowledges our state's past as the reason for moving with clear direction into the future. Of such broadminded electoral procedures she says, "We've had a lot of practice." She goes on to cite the different governments under which New Mexico has operated.

"We haven't been a part of the United States for very long, but we've had different forms of government for over 400 years here in New Mexico - the new government of Mexico, the Spanish colonial government of Spain. Working with different governments and electoral systems is a learning process that has been in place for hundreds of years."

And the learning process does not stop with the voters. Vigil-Giron is a strong advocate of ongoing training for election officials. In 1987 New Mexico was one of the first states to adopt uniform registration standards throughout all counties. We are now one of only 15 states to have the centralized voting management system.

New Mexico serves as a model for effective electoral processes that can be applied in future elections - especially future presidential elections where accuracy and timeliness in voting management can make or break a president.

As Chair of the National Association of Secretaries of State Standing Committee on Elections and Voter Participation, Vigil-Giron recently testified before Congress on proposals advocated by the committee: "On a national level, we cannot relent in our resolve to restore the confidence of the American people in our election systems. Whatever our party affiliation, it is our duty as elected representatives of the people to firmly reestablish the electoral foundation of our democracy and to prepare it for the demands of the 21st century."

back to Table of Contents

Call (505) 247-9195 to get your copy of New Mexico WOMAN Magazine.