SUE MAJOR HOLMES, ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – A federal judge has approved a consent order aimed at ensuring New Mexicans have a chance to register to vote at public assistance offices.
The consent order outlines procedures state Human Services Department officials must follow to offer voter registration forms to people applying for public assistance benefits.
The order was approved last week.
A coalition of voting rights groups sued in July 2009 over compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, which lets people register to vote at various state agencies.
Nicole Zeitler of Project Vote calls the consent order a victory.
Human Services spokeswoman Betina Gonzales McCracken says the agency believes people who visited income support offices were given a chance to register.
But she says the agency decided it was in the state’s best interest to settle.
Read the original Associated Press article, via KWES, here.