Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury used a Rio Rancho town hall to outline several election-related risks she said warrant public attention: state-level redistricting, pending Supreme Court review of the Voting Rights Act and claims about private transactions involving voting-system vendors.

Stansbury said Republican-controlled legislatures were redrawing maps to favor their parties and that the Supreme Court was hearing arguments that could undermine the Voting Rights Act. "If the Supreme Court issues a ruling with our conservative majority this summer, it will throw the entire maps of the entire country into chaos this summer," she said, adding that such outcomes could force rapid redraws ahead of elections.

She described Proposition 50 in California as an example of a voter-led effort to rebalance maps and said national litigation and state ballot measures were among the responses she saw as possible counters to partisan redistricting. Stansbury said she would be briefed by Eric Holder and the National Democratic Voting Rights Organization on ongoing litigation.

On voting machines, an audience member raised concern about private purchases of systems used in some jurisdictions. Stansbury said state and county checks are central to election integrity and noted that New Mexico had been recognized for its voting procedures. "Here in New Mexico, your vote does count," she said, citing recent awards given to the state's election administration.

Ending: Stansbury urged residents to vote in local and school-board elections, arguing that local offices are the frontline for many democracy issues and that participation in local races is one concrete step citizens can take now.