Dear Supporters, Donors, Sponsors, Board and Staff,

It has been a 10 year effort and tens of thousands of hours of volunteer work to pass an open primaries bill in New Mexico - and WE DID IT!

I founded NMOE in May of 2015 and had no idea it would take so long to pass what seemed to be a small, incremental step in enfranchising more voters. I am still wrapping my head around the fact that SB16, our open primaries bill, passed the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Lujan Grisham.

The bill simply allows independent voters (called Declined To State voters in NM) to vote in primary elections by asking for a major party ballot and then voting. We join over 30 other states that have various forms of open primaries. Remember, these are public elections financed by your tax dollars, not private party conventions.

There are lots of "thank you’s" to make at a moment like this. Throughout this 10 year effort, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver was a strong and consistent voice for open primaries. Her credibility helped tremendously. In the early efforts from 2016-2020 the support of former Representatives Moe Maestas, Stephanie Garcia Richards and Jim Dines were especially important and irreplaceable. And there were a number of Board members over the years who kept the momentum alive early on, especially Sarah Cobb, Ed Hollington, J.D., Merritt Allen, Barry Bitzer and Kathleen Burke.

Thank you to the current NMOE Board made up of Kathleen and Barry plus Luis Leyva-Castillo, former State Senator Bill Tallman, Daniel Garcia, Heather Balas and Randy Hancock.

In 2022 we had some key local supporters write some sizable checks that allowed me and our Board to hire our first paid Executive Director, Sila Avcil. Thanks to her community organizing skills and ability to work with state and national democracy advocates, she was able to secure national funding in 2023 that allowed NM Open Elections to establish a 501c4 in 2024 that she has led over the last year, NM Voters First. Under her leadership both NMOE and NM Voters First blossomed into a full-fledge force in NM powered by many dozens of new volunteer advocates and partnerships with other advocacy organizations.

The community outreach efforts, the coalition-building, the supporting of candidates who supported democracy reform and the expert lobbying efforts orchestrated by Sila was a game-changer that led to this success in the 2025 legislative session. She deserves much of the credit for our success.

A big shout out also goes to to our paid lobbyist, Jon Lipshutz and our Deputy Director, Perry Radford as well. Both helped with key strategy during the session.

We thank the Governor for signing this bill that will allow a quarter of New Mexicans to vote in the 2026 primary election cycle for the first time. Their voices will bring new, diverse opinions to the political discourse in our state.

After a decade of work and meeting this milestone, it feels like a natural moment for the next iteration of NMOE, and I've stepped aside as Board President. I'm excited to see what this growing movement will accomplish in New Mexico in years to come, and I'll continue to play a role in this ecosystem as NM State Chair of the Forward Party. 

Yours in democracy,

Bob Perls, Founder and Past President of NMOE

Former State Representative