New Mexico fake electors won’t face charges, says state AG

The slate of pro-Trump electors in New Mexico will not face criminal charges, the state’s attorney general announced Friday.

“It is disgraceful that New Mexicans were enlisted in a plot to undermine democracy and thwart the peaceful and orderly transfer of power,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez (D) said in a statement. “However, like the fake electors in Pennsylvania, their misconduct is not subject to criminal prosecution under current state law.”

The state attorney general’s office began investigating the “fake electors” in 2023, after a referral to federal authorities reaped no determination over whether the pro-Trump electors acted unlawfully, according to a press release.

As part of the probe, investigators interviewed the five alternate electors in New Mexico, and other individuals tied to the false certificate. 

Ultimately, investigators determined that Trump’s team and campaign provided the fake certificate and instructions for completing and submitting it. However, the New Mexico document would only be valid if the signatories were later determined legitimate electors — unlike the documents in other states, the attorney general’s office said.

The New Mexico attorney general’s office issued a 29-page report on its investigation and requested that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) ask the state Legislature to change its election code to give prosecutors “greater latitude to prosecute these types of cases in the future.”