Honor independents, move to hybrid primaries

ACCORDING TO the Secretary of State’s website, 1.3 million people are registered to vote in New Mexico. The total population of New Mexico is 2.1 million people. We have 417,165 voters that are registered as Republicans, 598,811 voters that are registered as Democrats, over 14,248 voters that are registered as Libertarians, and 304,389 voters are registered as independents or decline to state.

New Mexico has closed primaries, and recent election rule changes in 2020 allow minor (party), decline to state, and unaffiliated registered voters to pick a major party to participate. After the primary election, they are able to switch back. Primary elections are paid by state statute, which means that 22.6% of eligible voters who are taxpayers are paying for primary elections they cannot participate in without picking a major party. This is unacceptable.

Independent voters should not be forced to declare a major party to participate in primary elections. In a semi-closed primary, also known as a hybrid primary, unaffiliated voters may participate in one partisan primary of their choice. That means they cannot vote in multiple major primary elections. This will encourage more eligible voters to participate in the election process and protect the integrity of the vote.

The secretary of state is required to keep accurate records for elections. Forcing independent voters to declare a major party to participate in primary elections and have the ability to switch back to independent immediately after the election is not transparent and is disingenuous. Taking all information into consideration, semiclosed primaries would increase New Mexico’s voter participation by including independent voters.

AUDREY TRUJILLO Republican candidate for secretary of state

Corrales