On March 30, New Mexico Governor Grisham signed SB 180, which doubles the number of signatures needed by the nominees of ballot-qualified parties that nominate by convention. The new requirement is 2% of the last gubernatorial vote; the old one had been 1%. If a ballot-qualified convention party wished to run a full slate of nominees in 2022, its various nominees would have needed a combined total of 181,116 valid signatures.
The idea that ballot-qualified parties need general election petitions is absurd. The party has already shown that it has a modicum of support, because it had already submitted a petition for recognition, or else it had met the vote test at the last election.
New Mexico is the only state with petitions for the nominees of ballot-qualified parties. The requirement does not apply to presidential candidates. It has no effect on the Libertarian Party, because the Libertarian Party is entitled to nominate by primary. The most active party that the new law injures is the Green Party.
FELONY LEAK OF THE DAY —
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/30/lawyer-trump-indicted-1st-ex-president-charged-with-crime/70066002007/
WHAT HACK FELON LEAKED ???
TRUMP ON WAY TO RUSSIA, CHINA, ETC ???
ANY CRIM STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS STUFF ???
Dirty rotten scoundrels.
Has anyone sued over New Mexico’s requirement that non-presidential candidates of state recognized minor parties have to petition their way onto general election ballots?
All ballot access censorship laws can be abolished without compromising anonymous or secret voting. The all write-in ballot was the original constitutional ballot form.
Richard,
I looked at SB 180 (1/30/23) but couldn’t find this change. Nomination by Minor Political Party says (unchanged) 1% of gubernatorial. Primary Election Law says (unchanged) 2% of that party’s vote.
Something may have changed for write-ins.
The bill doesn’t include the number “2%”. It says the petition for minor party nominees is equal to the independent candidate petition. Because the independent candidate petition is 2%, that automatically makes the minor party nominee petition also 2%. The bill exempts minor parties if they have registration of 2% of the voters, but no minor party in any state has registration that high, except for a few parties that have the word “Independent” or “Independence” in their names.
A lawsuit was filed against the convention party nominee petition in 2006, when it was 1%. But due to a technical glitch, the plaintiff Libertarian Party was not permitted to introduce any evidence, so the judge upheld the law without the benefit of any evidence from the Libertarian Party.
Adam, see page 83 of the bill.
OK, thanks Richard! Man, that’s confusing. And vindictive…