Legislature considers streamlined absentee voting procedures

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Legislature met Thursday for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic struck in a special session to shore up state finances and consider emergency election reforms.

House lawmakers began their session with a moment of silence for people who have died from COVID-19.

Democratic House speaker Brian Egolf described an urgent need for a “clear framework for the recovery of our state” and said other proposed legislation is designed to “uproot and uncover institutional racism in state government.”

Lawmakers are confronting a 25% decline in estimated state government income for the coming budget year. Solvency proposals from a leading lawmaker and the governor would diminish but not do away with increased spending on public salaries, education and heath care.

First-term Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also wants legislators to enact policing reforms such as mandating body cameras and to streamline mail-in balloting procedures ahead of the November elections. She is hoping for legislation that extends a lifeline to local governments and small business by providing low-interest loans from a state trust fund.

Democratic legislators introduced a bill to change election balloting procedures temporarily in response to the pandemic that allows county clerks to ship absentee ballots to nearly all registered voters.

Election officials currently distribute absentee ballots only by request. Advocates for voting rights say that restriction leads to a time-consuming exchange by mail of ballot application forms before ballots are distributed.

The bill also would ensure that polling places in Native American communities are not closed or consolidated without the permission of local tribal authorities. Many polling locations for indigenous communities were closed in the June 2 primary where Native American tribes and pueblos had closed their borders or limited access because of the coronavirus.

Other new bills would tap federal recovery funds to support state government services, create a nine-member state civil rights commission, provide small-business recovery loans from a state trust fund and allow retail deliveries by liquor stores.

House Republican legislators are arguing for a more cautious approach to state spending and warning that sustained general fund budget increases now will eventually require tax increases as financial reserves dry up.

The Statehouse was closed to the general public, with interactions limited to interactive video and teleconferencing services.

Senate and House lawmakers deliberated new rules to allow remote voting by lawmakers, in a concession to the risks of mass gatherings as a member of the Senate went into self-isolation after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

Democratic Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez of Albuquerque said she was notified of the contact the night before the special session.

“I’ve requested that I be allowed to participate and vote remotely,” she said. “You’re supposed to behave as if you have it, and that’s what I’m doing right now."

Sedillo Lopez said that her contact with the virus carrier happened before and after giving a news conference this week on a policing reform bill. She says she’s glad she wore a mask to the meeting and never took it off.

Legislators took note of intermittent interruptions in video access to the proceedings throughout the day. A least one committee vote was postponed while video was restored.

“We will not take any action if the webcast is down,” Democratic Senate majority leader Peter Wirth said.

Many lawmakers have objected to the decision to shut off public access to the Capitol building. The state Supreme Court overruled legal objections to the arrangements on Monday.