AUDIT: SOS CANDIDATE LÓPEZ ASKIN’S CLERK’S OFFICE FLAGGED FOR MISSING, INCOMPLETE RECORDS

Planned Parenthood-backed candidate opposes voter ID and the federal voter-roll audit presented to her for identifying noncitizens—while auditors flagged recordkeeping deficiencies in the Clerk’s Office she already leads

By Bud Shaver, 
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A sweeping 2026 State Auditor-commissioned investigation produced 42 significant findings and a stark warning of a “sustained and widening breakdown in accountability, coordination, and organizational structure.” Among the records specifically examined were official records maintained by the Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office—the office led by Amanda López Askin (D), who now wants to become New Mexico’s next Secretary of State. 

Auditors reviewing resolutions and ordinances maintained by López Askin’s office identified referenced documents missing from the official record, incomplete supporting documentation, duplicate ordinances and referenced materials that could not be located. They warned that incomplete records could leave the public unable to determine the complete or final version of actions approved by county commissioners and “reduce transparency and accessibility” of official legislative records. 

Now López Askin is asking New Mexicans to promote her from County Clerk to the office entrusted with statewide election administration.

And the timing could hardly be more consequential.

At a critical moment for the future of the abortion industry and Democratic political control in New Mexico, Planned Parenthood Votes New Mexico has picked its candidate for the office that will oversee New Mexico’s elections through the 2028 presidential election: Amanda López Askin.

The stakes extend well beyond one election cycle.

The local officials that New Mexicans elect in 2026 and 2028 will determine the direction of the state on abortion and other major policies, while the 2028 presidential election will help determine federal abortion policy, judicial appointments, the federal courts and the direction of the country.

For Planned Parenthood and the abortion lobby, maintaining a favorable political environment in New Mexico is consequential to preserving the abortion policies they support.

And the abortion lobby has chosen who it wants serving as New Mexico’s chief election officer during that critical period.

López Askin currently serves as Doña Ana County Clerk and is seeking statewide authority over election administration.

Her own written answers raise immediate questions about the election safeguards she would support.

HER ANSWERS ARE IN BLACK AND WHITE

In a candidate survey, the New Mexico Business Coalition asked López Askin directly:

QUESTION: 

Do you support or oppose requiring voter identification in all NM elections?

RESPONSE FROM NEW MEXICO CANDIDATE FOR SECRETARY OF STATE: ​

OPPOSE." Amanda López Askin (D), Doña Ana County Clerk (Current)

QUESTION: 

Do you support or oppose the federal effort to audit NM voter rolls using all databases available to identify and remove any non-citizens?

RESPONSE FROM NEW MEXICO CANDIDATE FOR SECRETARY OF STATE: ​

OPPOSE." Amanda López Askin (D), Doña Ana County Clerk (Current)

There is no need to speculate about her positions. She put them in writing.

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(CLICK TO READ THE CANDIDATE SURVEY)

These answers are especially significant because López Askin is not seeking an unrelated government office.

She wants to become New Mexico’s chief election officer through the 2028 presidential election and beyond into the next major statewide election cycle.

THE OFFICE SHE ALREADY LEADS WAS FLAGGED BY AUDITORS

López Askin currently leads the Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office.
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A May 2026 special audit commissioned by the New Mexico Office of the State Auditor documented 42 significant findings across Doña Ana County government. State Auditor Joseph Maestas described the findings as demonstrating a,

“sustained and widening breakdown in accountability, coordination, and organizational structure.” 

And the Clerk’s Office López Askin leads was not spared.

​Auditors specifically identified deficiencies in official records maintained by the Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office, including missing referenced documents, incomplete supporting documentation, duplicate ordinances and materials that could not be located. 

The audit warned that these deficiencies could prevent members of the public from readily determining the complete or final version of government actions and “reduce transparency and accessibility” of the County’s official legislative records. 

Dona Ana County Special Audit (Consulting Procedures) Report 2026

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(CLICK TO READ THE FULL AUDIT)

This is the office Amanda López Askin leads. This is the record she brings to the race for Secretary of State.

YET LÓPEZ ASKIN CAMPAIGNS ON TRANSPARENCY

In the same questionnaire, López Askin identified “Government transparency and accountability” as one of her top three priorities.
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She promised:

“I would push for clear public reporting, searchable records, and consistent enforcement.”

She specifically included campaign-finance disclosure in that commitment.
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López Askin also declared that election confidence should rest on:

“Verifiable facts, not just assurances.” ​

Those words establish a standard against which her record and positions can be measured.

​Bud Shaver, Executive Director of Abortion Free New Mexico, said:

“The stakes couldn’t be higher. Planned Parenthood has picked Amanda López Askin for the office that will oversee New Mexico’s elections through 2028, at a time when Democrats and the abortion lobby are fighting to preserve the political control that has protected New Mexico’s radical abortion policies. Askin opposes voter ID and the federal voter-roll audit presented to her for identifying noncitizens. Meanwhile, the New Mexico State Auditor’s special audit identified deficiencies involving official records maintained by the Clerk’s Office she already leads—including referenced documents missing from the official record, incomplete supporting documentation, duplicate ordinances and referenced materials that could not be located.  If she believes confidence should rest on ‘verifiable facts, not just assurances,’ then New Mexicans should apply that exact standard to her before deciding who gets the keys to our elections.”

THE KEYS TO 2028 — AND THE POLITICAL FUTURE OF NEW MEXICO

Few offices require more public trust than the one responsible for administering New Mexico’s elections.

The 2026 election will determine who occupies that office during the 2028 presidential election, as well as other elections that will determine control of New Mexico’s government.

For Democrats, those elections will determine whether they retain the political power that has allowed them to advance their agenda in New Mexico.

For Planned Parenthood and the abortion lobby, they will help determine whether elected officials who support New Mexico’s permissive abortion policies remain in power.

That makes the Secretary of State race part of a much larger political battle over who holds the keys to New Mexico in 2028 and beyond.

And Planned Parenthood Votes New Mexico has already picked its candidate.

Amanda López Askin.

That choice deserves scrutiny—especially after auditors identified deficiencies in official records maintained by the Clerk’s Office she already leads.

And that’s not all.

SHE WANTS TO ENFORCE CAMPAIGN-FINANCE DISCLOSURE — BUT WHAT ABOUT HER OWN?

López Askin promises “clear public reporting” and “consistent enforcement” of campaign-finance disclosure. 

(See New Mexico Buisness Coalition Questionaire Above)

Yet AFNM filed an ethics complaint alleging her campaign failed to disclose $2,291.44 in Planned Parenthood Votes New Mexico in-kind contributions on two campaign-finance reports. The complaint remains an allegation pending determination.

The contradiction is striking: Planned Parenthood backs her, questions have been raised about disclosure of its support, and López Askin now wants to administer the very campaign-finance system she promises to enforce.

Tara Shaver of Abortion Free New Mexico said:

“Planned Parenthood is backing Amanda López Askin for an office responsible for both statewide elections and campaign-finance disclosure, while AFNM has already challenged whether Planned Parenthood-related support to her own campaign was properly disclosed. Add her opposition to voter ID, her opposition to the federal voter-roll audit presented to her, and the State Auditor’s findings involving records maintained by the office she already leads, and New Mexicans have every reason to scrutinize this candidacy. Before Amanda López Askin is handed the keys to New Mexico’s elections through 2028, her own record should withstand the transparency standard she says she wants to enforce.”

BY HER OWN STANDARD, AMANDA LÓPEZ ASKIN FALLS SHORT OF THE TRUST REQUIRED TO HOLD THE KEYS TO NEW MEXICO’S ELECTIONS.

López Askin insists public confidence should rest on 

“verifiable facts, not just assurances.” ​

Her own answers and record now put that claim to the test.

QUESTION: ​

Voter ID in all New Mexico elections?"

RESPONSE:

OPPOSE."

QUESTION: ​

Federal audit of voter rolls to identify and remove noncitizens?

RESPONSE:

OPPOSE."

PROMISE: ​

“Clear public reporting, searchable records, and consistent enforcement.” 

RECORD: State auditors identified missing, incomplete and inconsistent documentation among official records maintained by the Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office.

​COMPLAINT: AFNM filed an ethics complaint alleging López Askin’s campaign failed to disclose $2,291.44 in Planned Parenthood Votes New Mexico in-kind contributions on two campaign-finance reports.

This is not somebody else’s office, somebody else’s campaign or somebody else’s record. Amanda López Askin is the Doña Ana County Clerk—and she is now asking for statewide authority.

The next Secretary of State will oversee New Mexico’s election system during the 2028 presidential election and other elections that will help determine the political direction of New Mexico, including whether Democrats maintain control and whether abortion policies championed by Planned Parenthood remain protected.

López Askin says New Mexicans should judge her performance by, 

“clear, public metrics, not just promises.”

So judge the record.

Her answers are public. The audit findings are public. The ethics complaint is public. Planned Parenthood’s political backing is public.

And taken together, they present a troubling picture of the candidate asking New Mexicans to entrust her with the keys to their elections through 2028.

By her own standard, Amanda López Askin falls short of the trust required to hold those keys. With the 2028 presidential election, Democratic control of New Mexico and the future of the abortion lobby’s political agenda all at stake, those keys should not be handed over without confronting the record already in front of voters.