OPINION: New Mexico must align our voting system with our values

Imagine you’re a newly-registered young New Mexican looking to vote in your very first election. Despite unprecedented political dysfunction and polarization, you want to participate and have your voice heard. You take the time to learn about the issues and candidates that actually represent you, regardless of party. Maybe none of the major parties fully represent your beliefs, so you remain unaffiliated — a choice made intentionally and proudly.

But as you’re getting ready to cast your first ballot, you realize New Mexico has other plans. A state that, where many offices are decided in the primary election, doesn’t allow voters who are not affiliated with a major party to participate in primaries.

The fact of the matter is that young people are registering as unaffiliated voters at an increasingly overwhelming rate. Young people in New Mexico vote at some of the lowest rates in the country. It’s not because they don’t want to participate, it’s because there are barriers to participating — like closed primaries.

We believe we should start by making it easier for young people to vote. We should start by letting young people vote for who they align with, before forcing them to commit to a party. We should start by letting young people vote in the elections that their tax dollars pay for.

SB16 would create semi-open primaries in New Mexico, which would allow our young voters to participate in primaries without added barriers.

The bill has already passed the Senate, and now it’s time for the House to step up and advance this bill to the governor before time runs out this legislative session.

This democracy reform is long overdue. One out of every four New Mexican voters isn’t registered with a major party. That’s over 330,000 people who are intentionally left out of our democracy. Plus, the benefits of opening our primaries will extend further than just participation. Studies have shown that semi-open primaries can lead to a more diverse and representative set of candidates and viewpoints, increase voter turnout and decrease extremist violence.

It’s time New Mexico aligns our voting system with the rest of our values. In a time when folks, especially young people, are increasingly turned off by politics and with some of the highest levels of polarization in decades, we should do everything we can to invite MORE people into the democratic process.

SB16 is a major step towards that.

If you agree, contact your state representative and tell them to vote “yes” on SB16.