HB 405: Same Day Registration

Introduced by Senator Jacob Candalaria and Representative Bill McCamley, HB 405 would allow eligible voters to register to vote and cast their ballots on Election Day or at an Early Voting site.

Like HB 150, this bill will help increase voter participation while falling short of the goal of universal registration. Nonetheless, this more comprehensive bill would make a positive impact on the pathetically low turnout we have been seeing in New Mexico.

According to Demos (www.demos.org), in 2012 over 1,500,000 voters in ten states registered and voted using same day registration. Same day registration would improve voter turnout, clean up inaccurate voter rolls, and reduce the need for provisional ballots

This bill has been assigned to the new HGEIC, but has not yet been scheduled. If it passes HGEIC, it also goes to House Judiciary before reaching the floor. Please call Rep James Smith and other members of HGEIC (listed in last Saturday's blog entry) and urge a "do pass".

In other developments, SJR 1 was tabled by the Senate Rules Committee. Apparently, members of the committee are reserving the right to gerrymander their districts in an undemocratic effort to keep their seats.