At New Mexico Open Elections, we are working to solve the root causes of our political dysfunction. New Mexico is among few states to reform our systems to encourage politicians to actually solve problems and make our government more representative of the people it serves. We can’t wait any longer to have the political system we deserve.

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The problem is that we are using an aging political system that is now obsolete. We need a system that incentivizes all candidates to listen to all voters all the time. We need to move towards more representation so that all voters and communities have a realistic chance of being represented and heard in legislatures, county commissions, and city councils. 

Reform is challenging to enact in New Mexico. We lack a democratic process found in most of the country, a statewide Ballot Initiative process. This allows voters to make and change laws through signature collection from other voters in their communities and throughout the state. All changes in our current laws must go through our legislature, which is limited in its effectiveness with unpaid legislators, few staff, and a short legislative session. As we talk about reform options, we express our sincere belief that these ideas are not about incumbent replacement, rather these issues are about ensuring that all constituents are able to participate in a representative and responsive democracy.

When we the people reform the electoral process to a system that includes more people, we see more elected officials voting their conscience and listening to a more diverse constituency with outcomes more representative of a greater number of people.

 Here are some of the current elections issues New Mexicans face:

1. Low Competition: NM has some of the most number of uncompetitive districts in the U.S., which leaves voters with no options when voting particularly in the general election.
2. Low Representation: Like many states, NM has gerrymandered districts that are not representative of our population and communities because maps are made by people appointed by legislators themselves.
3. Low Participation: During the 2024 primary elections, only 17% of registered voters voted. That is not a representative and democratic percentage.
4. Low Accountability: Elected officials have low accountability as party primaries have been dominated by a very small number of partisans and special interest groups. Politicians generally escape accountability from the rest of their constituency also because they are un-salaried and don't think they're required to respond to constituents.
5. Expensive Elections: Runoff elections, particularly for municipal elections, have low turnout and are expensive to administer. Ranked choice voting and similar forms of voting are great alternatives to costly, low turnout runoffs.