New Mexico official wants vote revamp

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver will urge state lawmakers to expand automated voter registration at state agency offices and embrace other initiatives aimed at encouraging voter participation after record-breaking turnout in the state’s midterm election.

The state’s top election and campaign finance regulator told reporters on Tuesday that she would lobby for legislation in 2019 to allow same-day voter registration and to open major party primary elections to independent voters.

“We had a very active and engaged electorate in New Mexico this election cycle,” Toulouse Oliver said. “Moving forward the goal is to sustain that level of participation.”

Nearly 700,000 votes were cast in the Nov. 6 election across the state, far exceeding all previous midterm elections.

The New Mexico Legislature convenes in January with an expanded Democratic majority in the House of Representatives as control of the governor’s office passes from termed-out Republican Susana Martinez to Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Toulouse Oliver said technology is readily available to provide accurate same-day voter registration, citing Colorado as an example of successful implementation. Under current New Mexico law, registration closes 28 days before Election Day.

Toulouse Oliver said she would throw her political weight behind an anticipated bill to allow “modified open primaries” that allow voters who are unaffiliated with a major party to participate in primary elections.

She appeared less likely to support an initiative allowing major political parties to determine whether outsiders can participate in their primary elections.