This story is republished from NM Political Report, a nonprofit news outlet, as a part of our commitment to bringing you the best in independent news coverage that matters to Albuquerque.
By Nicole Maxwell
New Mexico already has, in a roundabout way, open primary elections. Voters can update their voter registration information up to the day of the primary election and change it back as soon as the next day.
SB 16 seeks to simplify this process by allowing voters registered with a third party or minor party to participate in primary elections without having to change their voter registration.
“This is a bill to allow voters who have not designated one of the major parties to participate in the public primary elections on primary election day. Such a voter would choose a ballot from one of the parties holding a primary,” Sen. Natalie Figueroa, D-Albuquerque, said during Monday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
The committee approved the bill 6-3.
The committee also accepted Figueroa’s proposed amendment to widen the bill’s scope to include voters who do not affiliate with any political party.
The committee amendment allows all voters to request a ballot from any party, including minor parties such as Green or Independent Parties.