The fight for voting rights remains as critical as ever. Politicians across the country continue to engage in voter suppression, efforts that include additional obstacles to registration, cutbacks on early voting, and burdensome voter identification requirements. But in New Mexico we have a chance to turn the tide to expand and protect voting rights for all of us in passing the New Mexico Voting Rights Act. 

Nayomi Valdez, director of public policy at the ACLU of New Mexico, took some time to answer questions about this critical legislation.

ACLU of New Mexico: Why is it important that we pass the New Mexico Voting Rights Act?

Nayomi Valdez: In a time where the fundamental right to vote is under attack across the country, New Mexico can be an example to the rest of the nation of what democracy and elections should look like. Protecting voting rights is essential to continuing our democracy and ensuring New Mexicans’ voices are heard at the polls.

Now, more than ever, we must safeguard and expand access to the ballot box. The New Mexico Voting Rights Act would ensure that people in New Mexico have the opportunity to safely and equitably cast a vote.

ACLU-NM: What does the bill do?

NV: First, this bill automatically restores the voting rights of those convicted of a felony who are not currently incarcerated. This bill also supports the rights of Native voters by expanding the time for when Native tribes, nations, and pueblos can request alternate voting sites. The NMVRA also improves access by extending the early voting period and allowing for people to sign up to receive a mail ballot for each statewide election.

ACLU-NM: What is the importance of voting rights restoration for those with felony convictions?

NV: A recent study indicated that over 17,000 eligible voters in New Mexico are silenced due to felony convictions. Silencing those voices has no positive outcome for our state and that erasure and dehumanization only deepens the wounds of systematically disenfranchised community members. Because of racial disparities in the criminal legal system, this means people of color are over-represented in being disenfranchised due to felony convictions. 

Taking away the right to vote serves no purpose. It does not deter crime and it reinforces the belief that total rehabilitation is impossible. In fact, studies show that when people are civically engaged and have a stake in their community, they are less likely to inflict harm on themselves and others. Restoring voting rights to all of our community members would be a step towards dismantling institutional racism in New Mexico.

ACLU-NM: How does the bill support the voting rights of Native voters?

NV: New Mexico’s 23 Native tribes, nations, and pueblos make up 11% of our state’s population. If we are to have a fair and free democracy, we cannot leave anyone behind, especially not New Mexico’s Native communities. Improving access to voting for Native communities means increasing collaboration between tribal leaders and election clerks, standardizing early voting on tribal lands, and guaranteeing much-needed resources for polling places and secure drop boxes. 

Expanding drop-off sites would allow our Native communities to use already existing infrastructure to collect ballots. Also, clearing up language around who is allowed to collect ballots is absolutely crucial for Native families. The bottom line is we cannot improve New Mexico’s democracy without improving access for Native communities and it is essential that tribal leaders have a fair say in what the future looks like. 

Following a series of recent US Supreme Court decisions and a 2018 decision from our own New Mexico Supreme Court, New Mexico needs a statutory fix to ensure that individuals who were under the age of 18 at the time of their offense have a meaningful opportunity for release. Ohio, Arkansas, Nevada, West Virginia, the Dakotas, and our neighbors in Texas, Colorado, and Utah have already passed this type of legislation. Senate Bill 43, the Second Chance Bill, creates consistency and predictability for victims and communities across the state by standardizing youth sentences in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution.

ACLU of New Mexico’s Staff Attorney Denali Wilson talked about the need for this bill in New Mexico.

ACLU of New Mexico: What does this bill do?

Denali Wilson: The Second Chance Bill does two really important things. First, the bill bans all sentences of life without parole for juveniles. Second, the bill creates early parole eligibility that happens after 15 years of a sentence served for those who are serving long adult sentences for crimes that they committed when they were children. 

ACLU-NM: Why is this bill important?

DW: There are 75 people in New Mexico who are serving sentences longer than 15 years for crimes committed when they were children. There are examples of those sentenced as children having sentences of 60 years, 142 years, and even sentences of life in prison. The retroactive component of this reform would provide those individuals with an opportunity for a parole hearing. Children are more than the worst thing that they have ever done, and we need laws that reflect that. When a child causes harm in our community, it is important to hold them accountable in age-appropriate ways that leave room for the profound potential that they have to experience positive transformation. 

ACLU-NM: What about public safety concerns?

DW: This is not a get out of jail free card. The bill does not guarantee release to people who become eligible for review. What the bill actually does is it merely creates an opportunity for those eligible to demonstrate rehabilitation and to demonstrate that they deserve a second chance at life outside of prison walls. The parole board, with its unique law enforcement and community safety experience, will make the ultimate decision as to who has been sufficiently rehabilitated to return home safely to the community. 

ACLU-NM: Is this a reform that has been modeled outside of New Mexico?

DW: 25 states and Washington DC have already abolished juvenile life without parole. It's time for New Mexico to do the same. There was a time when New Mexico was a national leader in issues related to juvenile justice. New Mexico was one of the first states to protect children from the death penalty and one of the first states to provide for discretion and sentencing in the rare cases where children were exposed to adult sentences. However, we are now behind more than half of the country, including our neighbors in Texas, Colorado, and Utah. It is time for New Mexico to act. 

ACLU-NM: How ACLU supporters get involved?

DW: The Second Chance Bill is currently moving through committees and needs public support. To learn where the bill is and how to engage, you can visit the Legislative Session Hub on the ACLU website and find the bill tracking tool to stay up to date.