Yesterday, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for the misnamed “HB 4, Voting Rights Protection Act,” Daniel Ivey-Soto not only voted against the wishes of the public, but against the “Clerks’ Affiliate” which constitutes a majority of the county clerks in New Mexico. HB 4 contained all of leftist Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s top priorities. Namely, a rehash of all the radical election changes of the “H.R. 1, For the People Act” that congress tried and failed to pass in early 2021. The bill includes automatic voter registration and a permanent absentee voting list.
His vote may have caught the Clerks’ Affiliate by surprise, as Ivey-Soto runs the list serve for the “Clerk’s Affiliate,” where he oversees the communication among all 33 New Mexico clerks. From a thorough review of their communications, the clerks routinely take Ivey-Soto’s advice and defer to him on legislation and election administration.
All the members of the public who spoke were in opposition to the bill. In a surprise move, the Clerk’s Affiliate sent a letter to the committee indicating their opposition to the bill as well. Yesterday, however, that majority of clerks that reside outside of the urban metropolitan areas of Bernalillo, Dona Ana, and Santa Fe, learned what happens when they don’t contribute to Ivey-Soto’s prolific pay-to-play scheme.
By way of background, Ivey-Soto got his start as an election “consultant” in 2008 when then county clerk, Maggie Toulouse-Oliver, hired him with taxpayer money to give her advice on running elections in Bernalillo County. Maggie Toulouse-Oliver has since moved on to become New Mexico’s Secretary of State.
Ivey-Soto’s true influence in the state as a conflict-ridden lobbyist and politician is shrouded in mystery, due to his noncompliance in reporting his 501C3 financial backers over the past two years. We do know, however, that he has contractual relationships with at least five counties, and that he has amassed a nearly $2 million fortune to make New Mexico home to Dominion Voting Systems, with roughly half of that coming from Bernalillo County.
The following exchange reveals Ivey-Soto’s betrayal in real-time.
Senator Mark Moores asked Maggie Toulouse Oliver and bill sponsor Senator Katy Duhigg, who were presenting the bill to the committee, if they “were aware that the majority of the clerks were in opposition to the bill.” Katy Duhigg, who had certainly been sent the Clerk Affiliate’s letter, since she also sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, claimed she was unaware that they opposed the bill, but shrugged it off by instructing Senator Moores, “We set the policies that they administer.”
As previously reported, it is important to note Daniel Ivey-Soto made a maximum campaign contribution to Duhigg to presumably sponsor legislation like HB4.
Moores followed up by asking if the clerks’ opposition “held any weight” with Duhigg and Toulouse Oliver since they had to administer the elections and that they “were not in favor of the changes the bill would make to the administration of the elections.”
Duhigg remained unmoved and Maggie Toulouse-Oliver had nothing to say.
Noticeably absent in this discussion were comments from Ivey-Soto who might have been expected to join Senator Moores in speaking up for most of the county clerks who have been led to believe he is their friend and ally.
By voting for the bill, which passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 6-3 vote, Ivey-Soto announced that he votes with whoever pays him the most money. In this case, that is Maggie Toulouse-Oliver and her radical agenda.
Ivey-Soto’s conflicts of interest and corruption are well documented. Articles showcasing how Ivey-Soto writes, sponsors, and votes on legislation that directly benefit his clients but are frequently at odds with the interests of his constituents can be read here.
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