On October 30, the Albuquerque Weekly Alibi carried a column by a political analyst who says independent candidate Carol Miller may place second, ahead of the Republican nominee, in the race for U.S. House, 3rd district. The district is in the northern third of the state; the largest city in the district is Santa Fe. The district is strongly Democratic. Miller has been included in most of the debates and has been endorsed by the daily newspaper in Los Alamos. She is only the second independent candidate for U.S. House in New Mexico history.
New Mexico independent candidates are at a disadvantage because New Mexico has a straight ticket device. A “straight ticket device” enables voters to push one button that automatically casts a vote for all the nominees of one particular party. Voters who use the device often are not even aware of who they are voting for. Independent candidates are never given a device of their own, on the ballot; only parties get them.
You might want to check your facts. I voted early in NM, which now uses a form on which you fill in ovals to indicate your choices and runs the finished form through a scanner to record the results. I didn’t see any place to record a straight ticket vote on the form.
I have a New Mexico November 2008 sample ballot. At the very top it has a heading “Straight Party” with only “Democratic” and “Republican” listed. Minor parties don’t get their own straight-ticket device unless they have nominees for more than one office, and in Luna County (which gave me one of its ballots) no Greens, Libertarians, Constitutionalists or Independent Party candidates are on the ballot, other than president.
This ballot also has ovals to indicate a vote for any particular candidate.
You must have overlooked the “Straight Party” column when you voted. I’m glad it’s inconspicuous.