Paper Ballots Bill Passes Senate But Deadline Stripped

After a two-hour NM Senate floor debate, Senator Linda Lopez's bill mandating that paper ballots be used for all New Mexico voting systems is now headed to the House of Representatives for consideration. SB 295 passed on a party-line vote 23-18.

Unfortunately, an amendment approved during the Senate floor debate removed any deadline for county clerks to have the paper ballot system in place. If the amendment isn't deleted while being considered in the House, there's no guarantee that the new machines will be used for the November 2006 election.

I guess Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera's whining campaign worked to convince some lawmakers that it was just too difficult for County Clerks to implement the new system in time for the next election. Hey, no need for urgency on getting our votes counted accurately! It's just a minor matter in this fading democracy of ours. We wouldn't want Mary Herrera and her supporters to be forced to move quickly in response to numerous documented problems with voting in New Mexico. They must have better things to do with their time.

Senator Lopez, however, has vowed to continue the fight. According to an Albuquerque Journal article:

Supporters face Thursday's adjournment of the 30-day legislative session as they attempt to persuade lawmakers to restore a deadline, said Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, the bill's sponsor.

The battle "has only just begun," Lopez said. Gov. Bill Richardson has said repeatedly that he'd like to see paper ballots in use in time for the November general election.

I note that Sen. Dianna Duran (R-Tularosa), one of the main opponents of the bill, proposed the amendment stripping the time requirement. Thus, she should shoulder at least some of the blame for creating an obstacle to timely election reform. However, for the amendment to succeed, some Democrats had to side with her as well. Who are they? If and when I find out, I'll let you know and perhaps we can add their names to the 2006 Democratic Legislator Hall of Shame. The way things are going, that could be a long, long list.

Click to contact House members and urge them to support SB 295 and restore the bill to its original language, with a timeline. With such a short time left in this 30-day session, we must keep the pressure on.