Voting Rights Bill Upgrades AVR & Elections in New Mexico
By Oriana Sandoval
As the fate of federal voting rights legislation remains in a state of limbo, New Mexico legislators have taken it upon themselves to pass voting rights legislation that will protect and expand the freedom to vote statewide. Thanks to Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, and House Majority Leader Javier Martinez, along with four co-sponsors in the state legislature and 50 in-state supporting organizations, the newly introduced New Mexico Voting Rights Act gives the state the opportunity to implement an all-encompassing bill that will modernize elections and build upon Senate Bill 672 passed in 2019.
While the implementation of Senate Bill 672 — which included front-end automatic voter registration (AVR) and same-day voter registration — was an integral first step toward making New Mexico’s voter registration system more efficient, the upgrade resulted in very little increased rate of overall registration. This year, the New Mexico Voting Rights Act presents an incredible opportunity to build upon that reform, among others, to upgrade the state’s election practices, strengthen electoral integrity, and protect the freedom to vote for all eligible New Mexicans.
Of all the reforms proposed in the New Mexico Voting Rights Act, back-end AVR — a simple, common-sense upgrade to New Mexico’s existing AVR system — has the potential to reach and register the most eligible voters. Back-end is efficient, secure, and accurate, and could more than double the turnout effect of New Mexico’s current Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) registration system, expand AVR to agencies outside the MVD (such as Medicaid) that reach more diverse voters and save New Mexico as much as $350,000 per election. Through back-end AVR, New Mexico will be able to register far more eligible voters than the current system and, in a state that ranks 42nd in the country for voter registration rates, this upgrade would ensure that the estimated 473,000 unregistered eligible New Mexicans have the opportunity to participate in future elections. With back-end AVR, over 85 percent of eligible voters who pass through covered state agencies would be registered to vote or have their registrations updated.
Similar to New Mexico, Colorado initially implemented a front-end AVR system as part of an effort to make its system more efficient. As more data became available on the effectiveness of back-end AVR, Colorado took action to make further improvements. The change the state saw from the shift to back-end AVR was significant. Dr. Justin Grimmer and Dr. Jonathan Rodden of Stanford University recently published an analysis which showed that Colorado’s back-end AVR system nearly doubled the registration rate at the DMV when compared with the previous front-end AVR system.
On top of the cost-saving benefits and ability to reach more eligible New Mexicans, back-end AVR will make voter rolls more equitable. Back-end AVR is proven to register more young voters, more voters of color, and more voters with low incomes than the current system. It also ensures that eligible, formerly incarcerated people are automatically registered to vote through the MVD or Medicaid, and registers and preregisters young voters much more efficiently than the current system. Back-end AVR presents a critical, common-sense next step to expand on AVR, which made New Mexico’s voting systems more secure, accurate, efficient, and fair.
Another component of the bill includes restoring the right to vote to individuals who were formerly incarcerated. Across the country, more than 5 million Americans are barred from voting because of felony charges, and more than 11,000 New Mexicans cannot vote because of previous convictions. Restoring the right to vote upon release is a monumental step forward to ensure that formerly incarcerated New Mexicans can engage with their communities and have a say in legislation that impacts their everyday lives.
The New Mexico Voting Rights Act includes expanding upon the Native American Voting Rights Act to ensure that fair and free democracy in the state leaves no one behind — especially not communities denied an equal voice in government for generations. Additionally, the coronavirus pandemic has posed a significant barrier that hindered the Native population from voting during the 2020 election. By increasing collaboration between tribal leaders and election clerks, standardizing early voting on tribal lands, and guaranteeing much-needed resources for polling places and secure ballot drop boxes, New Mexico’s 23 Native American tribes that make up 10 percent of the state’s population will have an equal opportunity to have their voices heard.
States like Minnesota, New Jersey, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania have already shown the power of upgrading their online voter registration systems, and upgrading New Mexico’s OVR system is the next step in modernizing and securing the state’s election practices. By allowing eligible voters to use the last four digits of their Social Security number as identification when registering to vote online, New Mexico can expand access while maintaining rigorous security standards.
During the 2020 election cycle, 65 million Americans decided to vote by mail because it’s safe, secure, and efficient. Two years later, some states, like California and Nevada, have amended their election practices to accommodate the unique challenges posed by the pandemic. Because eligible voters only need to sign up to vote by mail once, they never have to worry about requesting mail ballots or navigating government websites in the lead-up to elections. Because election clerks can maintain an accurate list of the eligible voters who prefer to vote by mail, they can plan ahead to make the voting process smooth — and even more cost-effective.
The proposed bill was created to ensure that New Mexico’s unique and diverse populations are represented, and it will work to secure voting rights for all eligible New Mexicans, no matter what restrictive legislation comes from Washington.
Oriana Sandoval has served as the CEO at the Center for Civic Policy (CCP) and the Co-Director of the New Mexico Civic Engagement Table since 2015.