A push to take the job of drawing voting districts away from state lawmakers and give it to an independent commission has failed to pass in every legislative session since New Mexico redrew its maps in 2021. A joint resolution introduced Monday again seeks the change for state offices, but would leave the power to redraw the U.S. House map in the hands of legislators.
The resolution sponsored by Sen. Natalie Figueroa (D- Bernalillo) would ask New Mexico voters whether to amend the state’s constitution so that lawmakers no longer draw the voting districts for the state Legislature or Public Education Commission.
Kathleen Burke, project coordinator of Fair Districts for New Mexico, said the congressional map was left out of this year’s version in response to lawmaker feedback. She called the change “palatable to some,” while taking some getting used to for others who’ve been advocating for years for a fairer process.
“But hey, the way we see it is this version removes the conflict of interest,” she said. “This longstanding conflict of interest of legislators drawing their own districts.”
However, the U.S. House map was the only one taken to court over gerrymandering allegations after the 2021 process. The New Mexico Republican Party sued state Democratic leaders, alleging they drew the lines in a way that unfairly benefited their party. A district court judge ruled in 2023 the Democrats’ efforts to weaken GOP votes in the 2nd Congressional District were intentional, but not “egregious” enough to violate the constitution.
Under the resolution, the nine-member commission would make the final call on what the maps for state offices look like.
“The lines become more reflective of where the people reside as opposed to reflecting where the parties want the lines to be,” said Burke.
The state’s existing redistricting committee can only suggest maps to lawmakers, who are not required to adopt them.
The independent commission would include three Democrats, three Republicans, and three not registered with either party. The Secretary of State would randomly select two thirds of the members from applications, and those commissioners would then vote on the remaining three.
In order to keep this year’s proposal short and to the point, Burke said details on how the commission would come together, including that it is representative of the state’s diversity, will be included in future legislation.
“Believe me, this is one of the highest goals of what we’re doing — to assure balance,” she said. “And we’re not going to let this go through without assurance.”
Burke said Fair Districts for New Mexico is hopeful the resolution will pass a few committees this time around, but that there is still a lot of work to be done to expose lawmakers to the new proposal.
“And, you know, that might take another year or two, and we’re here for the long haul,” she said. “So, we’ll see how far it goes this year and we are prepared already for next year.”
If it does pass, voters will see the question on their ballots next year.
The Senate Rules Committee will be the resolution’s first stop in the Roundhouse. That hearing has yet to be scheduled.
