Santa Fe County Clerk’s Office Issues Statement on #Election Watcher Training Ruling Santa Fe, NM — The Santa Fe County Clerk’s Office issued the following statement regarding the court’s ruling allowing election watchers and/or challengers who completed state-provided training to observe at county voting locations: “Per NMSA 1-2-22, New Mexico law assigns county clerks responsibility for providing election watcher/challenger training using a uniform curriculum supplied by the Secretary of State. Our office’s training requirement reflected our understanding of that statutory responsibility and our obligation it was the clerk’s duty to ensure watchers understand their permitted and prohibited activities. We always want to ensure we are only allowing persons deemed lawfully authorized into polling sites.  “The legal challenge concerned whether watchers and challengers who completed a training through the Secretary of State’s Office could serve without completing the county clerk’s training. With clarity on the situation, we thank the court for its consideration and direction and will comply with its order. "For this election, watchers/observers who have completed either the Secretary of State's training or the County Clerk's training will be accepted as long as they comply with the other necessary statutory requirements while the TRO is in place. Our focus remains on serving voters, facilitating lawful election observation, and maintaining an orderly, accessible, and transparent voting process.” For complete information about the Santa Fe County 2026 General Election visit SantaFe.vote/26General.