Editorial: Bill Puts Accountability Into Election Petitions

Freshman Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, survived a stormy campaign last year that included faked voter signatures on his nominating petitions. But instead of dismissing the problem as an aberration or just two dozen invalid signatures, Candelaria has introduced SB 222, “an act … modifying nominating petition forms.”

Its end result would be much more than a paperwork clarification, and it is long overdue. For too long, sloppy policy and procedures have facilitated Acorn-like election scandals that erode confidence in the Democratic system.

As fellow freshman Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, points out, SB 222 is a “common-sense approach” to the current lack of accountability that allowed two canvassers for Southwest Political Services to forge 12 signatures on Candelaria’s petitions.

Ivey-Soto knows of what he speaks. He headed the state’s Elections Bureau and has lobbied for county clerks. He says under the current practice candidates end up “turning in 40, 60, 150 sheets of paper. How do you track where the problem lies?”

Candelaria’s bill addresses just that, standardizing petition forms to include the signature, printed name and address of the volunteer, staffer or candidate under the wording “I confirm that I collected the signatures on this nominating petition.”

It is a simple fix that puts some transparency and accountability into a system that desperately needs it.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.