Making Democracy Work for 100+ Years

LWV table at the legislature, with women dressed as suffragettes

League Day at the Legislature

Wednesday, Jan 24:

8 am to 2 pm: Three informational tables in the West Hall of History – State Capitol
5:30 to 7:30 pm: Legislative Reception – Rio Chama Steakhouse (members and invited guests only)

Thursday, January 25:

League Day Program at New Mexico State Land Office.

For more details on both these programs, see the 2024 League Day page.

Watch: Representative Christine Chandler on Upcoming Gun Legislation

Tuesday, December 5: Representative Christine Chandler discussed the challenges of gun safety legislation, in light of recent court decisions and existing state law, and described what sorts of bills might be coming up in the 2024 legislative session.

Strengthening Democracy Town Hall: Redistricting

Learn about the state of and future possibilities for redistricting here in New Mexico. This session was led by NMOE Board Member and Fair Districts New Mexico Project Coordinator, Kathleen Burke, and joined by Representative Natalie Figueroa, Professor and Journalist Gwyneth Doland, and Redistricting Advocate Mary Henrie Smith.

Charles Sallee explains New Mexico's Reserve and Revolving Funds

Nov 29: Over the last 3 years the New Mexico Legislature has endowed existing reserve funds and built a number of new reserve funds. These will help alleviate the historical fluctuations in revenues caused by volatile oil and gas prices.

Charles Sallee, Director of the Legislative Finance Committee, explained the state's reserve and revolving funds.

Download the slides from the presentation: Budget_Overview_and_Fiscal_Update_11-29-23.pdf.

Election Integrity Videos

In advance of the 2023 local elections in New Mexico, county clerks throughout the state created public service announcements to inform New Mexico voters about the integrity of our elections.

Election officials manage our elections conscientiously according to rules and regulations. They know what it takes to maintain integrity to keep our elections safe. Below are messages from election officials from eleven county clerks’ offices as well as the office of the New Mexico Secretary of State.

Watch the 15- and 30-second videos here: New Mexico County Clerks Election Integrity PSAs.

The Legislative Process and the Role of the Legislative Council Service

Raul Burciaga, Esq., Director of the Legislative Council Service, explained how the how legislation is developed and how it moves through the New Mexico Legislature.

Slides from the Oct 12 presentation, with plenty of useful links: The Legislative Process PowerPoint deck.

The New Mexico Legislative Council appointed Raul Burciaga as Director of the Legislative Council Service (LCS) in 2010. He has primary responsibility for the administration of the LCS, the nonpartisan bill drafting, and the legal research agency of the New Mexico Legislature. Raul joined LCS in 2000 and between 2004 and 2010 was Assistant Director for bill drafting services.

Raul is a member of the New Mexico Compilation Commission, which oversees the compilation and publishing of New Mexico laws. He is also a member of the national Uniform Law Commission, which recommends uniform laws for states to consider enacting.

Watch: Legislative Interim Committees: What are they and why they are important?

A Zoom video from June 21, 2023.

League experts discuss the The New Mexico Legislature's interim committees and how to follow them.

Links: go to nmlegis.gov and click on “Committees” or "What's Happening". Or view the Tentative 2023 Legislative Interim Committees PDF on the legislative website.

A Guide to New Mexico’s Tax System

A useful article from NM Voices for Children: A Guide to New Mexico’s Tax System.

Learn how the state collects money, and why it matters.

New Mexico Listens video

Strengthening democracy through community conversations.

Glimpse some of the recent programs LWVNM offered with support from the NM Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information and to suggest future programs, please contact projects at lwvnm.org.

LWV Los Alamos LWV Santa Fe County LWV Central New Mexico LWV Southern New Mexico

Join us!

LWVNM has four local Leagues:

You can join your local League (click on the links above), or join LWVNM as a Member at Large.

Dinner at League Day 2018

Current Activities

We're gearing up for the 2024 state Legislative Session. See the Action page for more details on how we advocate on bills.

The League is leading the Fair Districts for New Mexico Project, promoting fair and transparent redistricting for New Mexico. Please visit the Fair Districts web site for updates. Or watch the 90 Second Video to Promote an Independent Redistricting Commission.

La Palabra Logo

Latest La Palabra

The Winter 2024 La Palabra (PDF, 716b) newsletter is out.

Co-Presidents’ Report; Nuclear Issues Update; Action Calendar; Voter Services Report; Legislative Moderization; Local League News.

Keep up to date by reading La Palabra!

For issues of La Palabra dating back to 2005, see the Newsletters page.

Recent LWVNM News

Effective Citizen Advocacy at the Legislature

Saturday, January 6, 2024, 10 a.m. to Noon

Learn tips from legislators and an experienced lobbyist about how to interact with legislators, speak at hearings and advocate for your cause.

Speakers:

  • Senator Carrie Hamblen (D-Doña Ana) – Vice Chair, Senate Tax, Business & Transportation
  • Representative Jason Harper (R-Rio Rancho) – Ranking Member, House Taxation & Revenue Finance
  • Linda Siegle – Long time lobbyist, president of a consulting firm focused on lobbying the legislature for nonprofit agencies and strategic planning. She is a former member of the Santa Fe County Health Policy and Planning Commission and has served as chair of various state councils and committees. Ms. Siegle is an elected Trustee on the Santa Fe Community College Board.

Advocacy Documents:

LWVNM Statement on Republican Party of New Mexico v. Oliver

The August 15 article, "New Mexico congressional redistricting lawsuit moves forward", in The Paper implied that the League of Women Voters of New Mexico signed onto an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs in Republican Party of New Mexico v. Oliver.

The League of Women Voters of New Mexico is a nonpartisan political organization, never supporting or opposing any political party. The League signed on to an amicus brief, a written argument submitted to the court, relating to the case of Republican Party of New Mexico v. Oliver. In addition, the signers include the Election Reformers Network, Common Cause NM and others.

The signers of the amicus brief do not have a position on the merits of the lawsuit. The amicus brief was filed to provide metrics and standards to determine if "egregious gerrymandering" took place. To decide whether the level of partisan gerrymandering is acceptable, the New Mexico Supreme Court directed the Fifth District Court to use a three-pronged test outlined by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan in her dissenting opinion in the 2019 Rucho v. Common Cause.

The importance of this cannot be overstated. If Justice Kagan’s criteria are put into place, they could be used across the nation in any state where there is egregious partisan gerrymandering.

Read the full amicus brief here: Amicus Brief on Republican Party of NM v. Oliver.

LWVUS statement on Supreme Court Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Decision

June 24, 2022 LWVUS statement: Supreme Court Strips Americans of Constitutional Right to Abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Decision

“Today’s ruling strips women and those who may become pregnant of their bodily autonomy and will have devastating — and immediate — consequences across the country. While the Court’s opinion was expected, its harm is extreme and real. When women and those who can become pregnant can no longer make reproductive decisions for their own bodies, they are no longer equal individuals in our democracy. This harm will exacerbate societal inequalities and fall disproportionately on people of color and low-income communities already facing egregious obstacles to health care.%rdquo;

Read the full statement.

For older news items, see the LWVNM News Archive.

How to Contact Your Legislator

Want to connect with your legislator? See our page on Contact Info for New Mexico Legislators.

Want to reach NM’s Congressional delegation? The Congressional toll-free number is 1-866-727-4894. Just ask for your representative or senator. Please remember that you are speaking as an individual and not for the League.