Election 2014 Underway

October 1, 2013 marked the official beginning of the 2014 primary and general election season, with Secretary of State Dianna Duran making candidate packets available (see link to SoS website at right). And the near conclusion of Albuquerque's municipal election marks the traditional beginning. We say near conclusion, because there will be a runoff election in district 7 on November 19. Hasn't anybody told the Albuquerque City Council about the benefits of Ranked Choice Voting? They could be saving hundreds of thousands of dollars if they had let voters indicate their second choice preferences on Election Day!

Meanwhile, as the pundits are wondering if the Demmies can take back the governor's mansion or if the Republicans will gain enough seats to control the roundhouse, we at Voting Matters have other questions.

How many of the 70 state house seats will even be competitive in November? Between the last redistricting debacle and the pathetically low turnout in party primaries, it seems most of our legislators are fully entrenched in an incumbent protection plan.

Who will run for the three Public Regulation Commission seats that will be on the ballot? Now that the legislature has ensured that only industry insiders can hold these crucial positions, we expect the PRC to slide even further away from its role as a consumer protection agency.

Will any Libertarian, Green, or Independent candidates dare challenge the two party system and mount serious challenges in local, state, or federal elections?

How many New Mexicans will even bother to vote in one or both elections this season?

What role and how much influence will unregulated,so-called independent groups have in the post-Citizens United era, and will we finally get fed up by them and demand a constitutional amendment clarifying that money is not speech and corporations are not people?