The House and Senate have approved by overwhelming majorities a proposal to provide an alternate path to the ballot for Republican and Democratic hopefuls who fail to secure the votes of 20 percent of delegates at their party’s preprimary nominating convention.
Though they approved different bills, the bills are the same, so it’s likely one will easily make it through the other chamber. The governor has said he supports providing an alternate path to the ballot.
Under the previous law, Democrats and Republicans 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 to do that, by submitting petitions containing enough signatures to qualify. A 2007 change, approved unanimously by lawmakers and signed by the governor, got rid of the second provision, and was designed to increase the power of those who control the major parties.
The new proposal would revert to the previous law that allowed the alternate path.
House Bill 190, sponsored by Rep. Al Park, D-Albuquerque, passed the House on Wednesday on a vote of 57-1 – easily obtaining the two-thirds majority needed to take effect before the March 15 preprimary nominating conventions. Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Majority Leader Michael Sanchez of Belen, was earlier approved by the Senate on a vote of 34-0.