On January 7, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, and New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, issued a joint press release, mentioning election law changes they support. Their list includes letting nominating petition signatures be gathered electronically. Unfortunately they also want to bring back the straight-ticket device. Here is the list. Thanks to Rick Lass for the link.
Their list, unfortunately, does not include adding the statewide initiative. New Mexico and Hawaii are the only western states without the initiative process. Also their list says nothing about abolishing the petition for convention nominees. New Mexico is the only state in which a convention nominee, after being nominated, must submit a petition to be on the general election ballot. Qualified minor parties in New Mexico nominate by convention, but the state irrationally requires them to submit a petition, even though their party has already met a numerical test to show it has a modicum of support. The irrationality of the law can be shown by imagining what people would say if the law required major party primary winners to then submit a petition to be on the November ballot.
“New Mexico is the only state in which a convention nominee, after being nominated, must submit a petition to be on the general election ballot. ”
Not quite, Richard. In Massachusetts, all nominees of all parties, recognized or not, must collect signatures to appear as candidates on the ballot. In the case of recognized parties, its for the purpose of appearing on the primary ballot. But, it has the same effect.
I have come around to tolerating the straight ticket device. By itself, it doesn’t stop any voter from splitting the ticket.
It has the one virtue that it enables voters in crowded precincts to cast their ballots more quickly. The proper remedy for the straight ticket device, if a district cannot open up more precincts, is to allow more no-excuse absentee voting.
ONE voter forms for all petitions for candidates and ballot issues.
Goofy Toulouse Oliver argued when she previously tried to impose straight ticket voting administratively that it would prevent aging veterans from toppling over while voting. A simpler solution would be to provide chairs for those who had problems standing for a few minutes.
@WZ, the solution is to use paper ballots and provide more voting booths which only require a level surface and privacy shields.
Or better yet would be to adopt continuous voting, where a voter is granted one vote per month, but which may accumulated for a period of time. If you wanted vote every month you could. If you wanted to vote in October or December rather than November it would be your choice.
Walter, a “nominee” is someone who has been nominated. The kind of candidates you are talking about are not nominees of qualified parties. They are hoping to become the nominee of a qualified party; or they are the nominee of an unqualified party.