On February 6, the New Mexico House passed HB 190, which makes it easier for candidates to get on a primary ballot. An identical bill, SB 1, had passed the Senate a few days earlier.

The bills restore the law to the way it was until 2007. Until 2007, someone who failed to get at least 20% support at a party endorsements or nominating convention could still get on the primary ballot by collecting signatures of party members. That petition requirement was 4% of that party’s primary vote for Governor in the last gubernatorial election (within that particular district, of course). But the 2007 legislature had repealed this procedure, so that it was impossible for anyone to run in a primary without having shown support at a party meeting. Now, the 2008 legislature is undoing what it did in 2007. SB 1 passed unanimously and HB 190 passed 57-1.

It is somewhat humorous to watch state legislators pass a bill unanimously in one year, and then to pass a bill (almost unanimously) in the second year of the same session to completely undo what the same legislators had done the year before. The reversal was caused by the fact that the U.S. Senate seat up this year in New Mexico has no incumbent running for re-election. Furthermore, all three U.S. House seats also have no incumbent running for re-election. This causes many prominent Democrats and Republicans to file for these seats, and even some candidates with considerable backing may fail to get 20% of the vote at the party endorsements conventions.

Assuming either HB 190 or SB 1 is signed into law soon, the lawsuit Wiviott v State will become moot.