New Mexico Open Elections

New Mexico Open Elections (NMOE) is a movement of diverse individuals whose mission is to listen to all New Mexicans and their elected officials and provide reliable information about election reform and representational government to improve our political system. The goal of New Mexico Open Elections is to make sure that every vote counts by getting at the root cause of our political dysfunction. Our goals are to advocate for open and nonpartisan primary elections, educate voters and elected officials about why elections must be a state and not a party function, push for a non-partisan re-districting approach and help pass a New Mexico constitutional amendment that would establish everyone’s right to vote in all elections. During the progressive era, partisan primary elections were enacted to curb the power of party bosses and bring voters into the process of selecting party nominees. However, over the last 20 years or so, a combination of factors have led to fewer and fewer people participating in party-run primary elections. Today, 22 percent of voters in New Mexico do not wish to enroll in a political party and New Mexico closed primaries bar them from voting. Many thousands more register with a major party because they are required to do so to exercise their fundamental right to vote in the first round of elections. This is wrong. The gridlock and hyper-partisanship in New Mexico and the nation are destructive and can be changed by changing the way we elect our representatives. Closed primaries also make it more difficult for new coalitions to form and for New Mexicans—both voters and elected officials—to come together across ideological lines. We need an election system that allows everyone to vote all the time so that candidates must listen to the broadest possible range of opinions.