During the 2007 Legislature, the powers-that-be quietly pushed through a change in state law that made it more difficult for many major-party candidates to get on the ballot. The scramble that has resulted from U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici’s retirement has that law causing headaches for Democratic leaders.
Under the previous law, a Democrat or Republican could get on the ballot by receiving the votes of 20 percent of delegates at their party’s preprimary nominating convention or, if they failed in that attempt, by submitting petitions containing enough signatures to qualify.
The change got rid of the second provision, and was designed to increase the power of those who control the major parties.
However, as reported today by The Santa Fe New Mexican’s Steve Terrell, getting rid of the alternative path to the ballot is causing headaches for Democrats. In the Third Congressional District, as many as a dozen Democrats are considering running if
Under the current law, if no candidate gets 20 percent at the convention because too many candidates split the vote, the party doesn’t put anyone on the ballot. That has the potential to hand a safe Democratic seat up north and a hotly contested seat in the south to the Republicans.
It won’t likely happen. The stupid attempt to increase central control within the parties (did I mention that I’m a big fan of ballot access?) has now been exposed as just that. Expect the Legislature to fix this in January or February and include an emergency provision that allows the new law to take effect before the March 15 conventions of both parties.