The secretary of state’s office issued a statement this morning in response to the Republican Party’s lawsuit filed Wednesday.
“Secretary Vigil-Giron believes the Republican Party’s lawsuit is without merit,” it states. “The ballot for the upcoming November General Election has been certified, and she believes very strongly it will withstand any court challenge.”
Here’s a copy of the lawsuit filed by the Republican Party:
STATE OF
FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
BARBARA V. JOHNSON
ROGER GONZALES, and
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF
Plaintiffs,
vs.
REBECCA VIGIL-GIRON,
New Mexico Secretary of State,
And PATRICIA
State Attorney General,
Defendants.
PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
Plaintiffs, Barbara V. Johnson, Roger Gonzales, and The Republican Party of New Mexico, by and through their counsel CARPENTER LAW, PC (Joshua Carpenter), hereby state:
The Republican Party of New Mexico is a major political party in
The Republican Party of New Mexico is the legally recognized organization under New Mexico Election Law that can nominate Republican candidates as called for in the Primary Election Law [§1-8-1- to §1-8-52 NMSA 1978].
The Republican Party of New Mexico has a vested interest in ensuring that the election laws of the State of
The Republican Party of New Mexico has a vested interest in ensuring that the Attorney General, Patricia Madrid, interprets
Duly selected nominees of the Republican Party of New Mexico have been unfairly and illegally removed from the ballot by Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron.
Upon information and belief, the Secretary of State relied upon legal opinions from Attorney General Patricia Madrid in removing duly selected nominees of the Republican Party of New Mexico from the 2006 General Election ballot.
The Secretary of State has applied
The Republican Party of New Mexico has standing to bring this action since Republican nominees have been disfavored and stricken from the General Election ballot.
The nominees of the Republican Party of New Mexico have been irreparably harmed.
At issue is NMSA 1978 §1-8-9, stating “[n]o candidate shall withdraw from a general election unless he withdraws at least sixty-three days prior to that election.”
The Democratic nominee for State Auditor, chosen by the Democratic Party at their Pre-Primary Nominating Convention in March, did not withdraw by the statutory deadline, Tuesday, September 5, 2006. NMSA 1978 §1-8-9.
The vote by the Democratic State Central Committee to replace the official Democratic nominee with another candidate was ultra vires, and therefore a nullity.
Assuming, arguendo, that the nomination of Hector Balderas for State Auditor at the September 9, 2006 meeting of the Democratic State Central Committee was legal, a proper letter of nomination from the Chair of the Democratic Party was not submitted to the Secretary of State by the statutory deadline of Tuesday, September 12, 2006. NMSA 1978 §1-8-8.C.
Hector Balderas cannot legally appear on the 2006 General Election Ballot.
Barbara Johnson is a qualified candidate for a position as a Second Judicial District Judge.
On September 6, 2006, Republican Bernalillo County Chairman Fernando C de Baca mailed a letter of nomination of Barbara V. Johnson from the State Central Committee of the Republican Party to the Secretary of State’s Office in
The Secretary of State received a copy of the letter of nomination dated September 6, 2006, and sent a notice of receipt
The letter of nomination was timely filed.
The Secretary of State acted upon the letter of nomination by placing the name of Barbara V. Johnson on the official Secretary of State website as the Republican Party nominee for the Second Judicial District.
Barbara V. Johnson detrimentally relied upon the official Secretary of State website; submitted information about her candidacy to the Albuquerque Tribune and the League of Women Voters; expended several thousand dollars on campaign materials; and held a fundraiser where she collected money from supporters.
The Secretary of State did not inform Barbara V. Johnson, by mail, that her name was removed from the official Secretary of State website and would not appear on the 2006 General Election Ballot as required by NMSA 1978 §1-8-26.D “candidate must be notified by the proper filing officer by 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday following the filing date.”
Relying upon the official Secretary of State website, on September 20, 2006, Barbara V. Johnson drove to the Secretary of State’s Office in
Barbara V. Johnson was told that her removal from the ballot came at the direction of the Attorney General, Patricia Madrid. When Barbara V. Johnson protested her removal from the ballot, the Director of the Bureau of Elections, at the Secretary of State’s Office responded, “We take our orders from the Attorney General.”
Roger Gonzales is qualified to be a State Representative in New Mexico House District 68.
Roger Gonzales was nominated by the State Central Committee of the Republican Party in accordance with NMSA 1978 §1-8-8.A(1) of the Election Handbook of the State of New Mexico and the Republican Party of New Mexico’s Uniform State Rules.
The letter of nomination for Roger Gonzales from Allen E. Weh, Chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, was timely filed with the Secretary of State on Tuesday, September 12, 2006, the last day to fill vacancies for the 2006 General Election. NMSA 1978 §1-8-8.C.
Under NMSA 1978 §1-8-8, the State Central Committee had the right and ability to nominate Roger Gonzales as a candidate for State Representative.
The State Central Committee of the Republican Party properly nominated Roger Gonzales pursuant to state law.
The Secretary of State did not inform Roger Gonzales, by mail that his name would not appear on the 2006 General Election Ballot as required by NMSA 1978 §1-8-26.D.
The Defendants’ have acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner and their actions are contrary to the laws of the state of
Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury because the ability to be a candidate on the 2006 general election ballot cannot be measured by any pecuniary standard and no compensation will suffice.
This Court should issue an alternative Writ of Mandamus to the Defendants directing them to uphold state law and place the names of Barbara V. Johnson, and Roger Gonzales on the 2006 General Election Ballot for the position to which they were nominated, or to show cause why this action should not be taken.
Due to the time required to print ballots, time is of the essence and an emergency hearing should be conducted.
There is a substantial likelihood that Plaintiffs will succeed on the merits.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs respectfully request this Court issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the Defendants to place the names of Barbara V. Johnson and Roger Gonzales on the ballot for the 2006 General Election to the positions for which they were nominated, as well as removing the name of Hector Balderas from the ballot for the 2006 General Election, or to show cause why this action should not be taken.
Respectfully submitted,
CARPENTER LAW, PC
Joshua Carpenter