Tribal voter turnout task force holds first meeting

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The new Native American voting task force had its first meeting this week in a long-term effort to improve voter turnout among tribal members. New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver says the Friday meeting was an important step to increasing voter turnout as the next general election is a year away. Toulouse Oliver announced the task force earlier this year. A chair and vice chair were selected at the meeting Friday. Toulouse Oliver says Native precincts have the lowest voter turnout. In the 2016 general election, only 56 percent of voters cast a ballot. That figure was 62 percent for overall turnout in New Mexico.