Last November, New Mexicans went to the polls to vote in the relatively new unified local elections, which cover nonpartisan local districts including school boards, municipal governments, and miscellaneous districts such as soil and water conservation districts.<\/p>\n
But not for the city government of Rio Rancho.<\/p>\n
Sandoval County had an election. On the ballot were positions on three local water and sanitation districts, five school districts, the Central New Mexico Community College Governing Board, seven soil and water conservation districts, one flood control district, and municipal elections for Corrales, Edgewood, Jemez Springs and San Ysidro. Rio Rancho voters might have voted in that election for a representative on one of those district boards.<\/p>\n
Rio Rancho held a separate municipal election in March of this year, with a runoff in April. It is one of a few municipalities that have not signed on to the new system. Rio Rancho voters are subject to all the inconvenience that the new system is intended to prevent, including low voter participation and two extra trips to the polls. For Rio Rancho\u2019s municipal election in 2024, voter turnout was 7.08%.<\/p>\n
That is, at least in part, due to its former mayor, Gregg Hull, who is now the Republican nominee for governor of New Mexico. Hull has explained his position on his candidate website, gregghull.com.<\/p>\n
The issue is what Republicans call election integrity. The separate municipal election means the city has more control than if it were combined with other entities, even though those entities would all be local and nonpartisan and the election would be run by the county clerk who was elected by the same voters.<\/p>\n
Rio Rancho city ordinance requires voter ID at the polls.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s part of his position statement:<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Mayor of Rio Rancho, I stood up for our community\u2019s voter-approved election protections, including photo identification requirements in city elections. When efforts were made to move Rio Rancho\u2019s local elections into a statewide system that would have weakened local control and removed local Voter ID protections, I opposed that change.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continues:<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026New Mexicans should expect the same rules and procedures to be applied no matter where they live. I will work to support uniform enforcement of voter identification requirements, absentee ballot handling, ballot security, and election procedures statewide.\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cLocal control matters too. Communities should not have their voter-approved election safeguards stripped away by state overreach. Rio Rancho\u2019s experience shows why this matters. Local voters approved their election rules, and state policy should respect the will of those voters instead of forcing one-size-fits-all changes without clear evidence, clear costs, or clear accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Does Hull want to break up the unified local election system and go back to separate municipal and school board elections? Does it matter to him if soil and water conservation districts have near-zero participation because they can\u2019t afford to run their own elections? Voters should ask.<\/p>\n
In 2024, New Mexico\u2019s elections were ranked best in the nation by the prestigious Elections Performance Index, a project of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology\u2019s (MIT) Election Data and Science Lab described as \u201ca non-partisan, objective measure of U.S. election administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Mexico already meets all the standards Hull mentions except for ID. The state verifies voter ID when the voter registers and then has follow-up procedures that certify the voter, whether the ballot is mailed or voted in person.<\/p>\n
Replacing those dysfunctional and frustrating separate elections with unified local elections was a great victory for democratic participation in New Mexico. If this candidate for governor doesn\u2019t like it, the voters need to know.<\/p>\n
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Last November, New Mexicans went to the polls to vote in the relatively new unified local elections, which cover nonpartisan local districts including school boards, municipal governments, and miscellaneous districts such as soil and water conservation districts. But not for … Continue reading