Contact: Isaac Padilla
Office: 505/986.4819
Mobile: 505/264.6512
Isaac.Padilla@nmlegis.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Senator Michael Sanchez Praises Supreme Court Ruling
Santa Fe- Today Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez (D-29- Bernalillo and Valencia) praised the recent unanimous State Supreme Court ruling that substantially expanded voting rights and will increase participation in elections. The New Mexico Compilation Commission had maintained that certain ballot initiatives needed 75% of the vote to be enacted. The State Supreme Court ruled that a simple majority was needed for the measures to be implemented.
The three ballot measures that will expand voting rights include Senator Michael Sanchez’s measure to allow school board elections to be held at the same time as non-partisan elections, Senator Howie Morales’s (D-28-Catron, Grant and Socorro) measure to extend the right to vote to felons after they complete their sentence and Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto’s (D-15-Bernalillo) measure to replace laws banning “idiots” and “insane persons”.
“School board elections are expensive and have a history of low participation, but soon it will be possible to hold them at the same time as nonpartisan elections,” said Senator Sanchez. “This will increase participation, save money and is great for democracy in New Mexico.”
The rule to hold school board elections separate from other elections dates back to 1910 when women in New Mexico were only allowed to vote in school board elections. The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution gave all women the right to vote in 1920.
“Expanding voter participation in New Mexico is something I have fought for since I entered the Senate,” said Sen. Sanchez. “I will continue to fight for the rights of New Mexicans as long as I have the privilege to serve.”
The State Legislature still needs to pass a law that allows school board elections to be held at the same time as non-partisan elections such as city council, community college and water district elections.
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