On February 15, the New Mexico State Senate passed SB 218 by a vote of 26-12. It says the general election ballot should contain straight-ticket devices, but only for parties with at least two statewide nominees. The New Mexico legislature’s web page does not yet reveal the vote case by each individual Senator. It seems somewhat likely that the bill passed on a party-line vote, or close to it, with Democrats supporting and Republicans opposing. The Senate has 28 Democrats and 14 Republicans. UPDATE: no Democrat voted against the bill, and only one Republican (Sue Beffort of Albuquerque) voted for the bill, so it was virtually a party-line vote.

New Mexico has a Republican Governor. It seems conceivable that if this bill also passes the House, she might veto it. The House has 36 Democrats, 33 Republicans, and one independent, so any veto is likely to be sustained in the House.

New Mexico has been putting a straight-ticket device on general election ballots for decades, but there is no statutory authorization for it, so far anyway.