On February 14, the New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee passed SB 218, after amending it to make it worse for minor parties. The bill says general election ballots will carry straight-ticket devices. As amended, only parties with at least two statewide nominees could have a straight-ticket device.
The problem with this is that New Mexico requires a very difficult petition for a qualified minor party to place its own nominees on the November ballot, other than its presidential nominee. For example, in 2012, New Mexico has two statewide races, President and U.S. Senate. New Mexico will probably have five parties, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, who are on the ballot for President. But chances are, none of them will have a nominee for U.S. Senate, because that takes a separate petition of 6,018 signatures, due in late June.
Pingback: New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Straight-Ticket Bill and Amends it to Hurt Minor Parties | ThirdPartyPolitics.us
I would recommend that third parties in New Mexico get to work ASAP on getting those 6,018 signatures so that they can run a U.S. Senate candidate and have access to the straight ticket!
The original analysis says that the SOS was concerned that voters would vote straight ticket Libertarian or Green and not realize they had skipped other races.
The greater risk is that voters would vote straight ticket Democrat or Republican and not realize who they had voted for in other races.