Santa Fe County election officials highlight women’s central role, urge poll worker sign-ups ahead of Espanola school election

Santa Fe County Clerk Catherine Clark and Bureau of Elections Administration Supervisor Andrea Tapia used a March recording of the county’s Beyond County Lines program to mark Women’s History Month and discuss the role of women in election administration and how residents can sign up to help run upcoming elections.

Why it matters: Clark and Tapia said women make up a large share of election officials and volunteer poll workers, and they emphasized recruitment for a mail-only special election that begins April 1 for the Espanola School District. Speakers also raised structural barriers women face in public service, including childcare and expectations about caregiving, and noted a clerks’ association proposal to amend the New Mexico Constitution to change how school election questions appear on ballots.

Clark described the national and state presence of women in election work, saying, “What we have seen is that all over the country, 80% of election officials are women. And that is true in New Mexico.” She and Tapia encouraged residents to sign up as poll workers or temporary staff through the county website and outlined differences between poll workers stationed at voting sites and internal temporary workers who help in offices and on field teams.

Tapia said the clerk’s office accepts applications year-round and that the office hires both temps and poll workers: “We take applications, 365 days a year.” She told listeners the office has about 20 internal temps who help during election seasons and noted that some temporary employees later become full-time staff.

Operations manager Celeste Garcia described workplace and public expectations that can make public service harder for women and urged structural supports such as childcare during meeting times. “It’s really hard when you are sometimes in a conversation, and it’s just a bad habit that people have. But they’ll turn to the man that’s sitting next to you and ask about their opinion even though you’re the elected official,” Garcia said, describing stereotypes and the persistent need for flexibility when employees manage caregiving responsibilities.

Speakers also described internal representation: “Right now, we have 5 out of our 6 leadership roles in the clerk’s office filled by women,” Tapia said, framing that as a point of pride and context for recruiting additional workers.

Clark explained a policy change the clerks’ affiliate is pursuing at the Legislature: a proposed constitutional amendment to allow school-related ballot questions to appear on general-election ballots. According to the speakers, current language in the New Mexico Constitution traces to an earlier era and limits how school questions are placed on ballots; the clerks’ proposal would move those questions to general elections. Clark characterized the effort as a legislative goal for the current session.

The program included practical guidance for residents: sign up on the Santa Fe County Clerk’s Office website to be a poll worker or temporary election staffer; the office runs special and regular elections and hires both kinds of workers. Clark said the Espanola School District special election is a mail-only contest that will start April 1, and the clerk’s office is recruiting absentee poll workers for that ballot.

The segment also referenced recent emergency-preparedness activity: staff described participating in an emergency operations center (EOC) response and public-information coordination during a PNM outage, which county staff said helped strengthen interdepartmental communications ahead of election work.

The recording concluded with officials urging residents interested in elections work to apply and with a reminder that details and sign-up forms are available on the Santa Fe County Clerk’s Office website.