More than 330,000 independent voters will have access to state-administered primary elections in future New Mexico elections after the legislature passed SB 16 in March to end the state’s use of closed primaries.
Independent voters will finally have access to taxpayer-funded primary elections in New Mexico after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed SB 16 into law. Primary reform advocates are now celebrating a win that was several years in the making.
KOAT 7 in New Mexico featured an investigative report on the impact of open primaries now that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed SB 16 into law, a bill that opens the state's primaries to more than 330,000 independent voters.
As of Monday, New Mexico has officially moved away from closed partisan primaries and has adopted semi-open primaries that allow more than 330,000 independent voters to participate in critical taxpayer-funded elections after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed reform into law.
It has been a long road for reformers in New Mexico, but the legislature has passed a bill that would open state primary elections to a quarter of the state's voting population registered unaffiliated of a political party.
A bill that could open primary elections to more than 330,000 New Mexico voters registered as "Decline to State" or "Unaffiliated" has been scheduled for a hearing Friday in the House Government, Elections, and Indian Affairs committee.
With a short legislative window to work with, the updates on a bill to open New Mexico's taxpayer-funded primary elections to more than 330,000 independent voters are happening fast -- and so far, it is good news for reformers.
There are more than 330,000 registered independent voters in New Mexico. However, none of these voters have full access to the taxpayer-funded elections process as a result of the state's closed partisan primary system.
Shawn Griffiths
