New Mexico Voter Sign-Up Law Challenged

ALBUQUERQUE (CN) - The State of New Mexico is impeding voter registration drives with an onerous law and regulations that impose ridiculous barriers on public interest groups, four such groups claim in District Court.

The rules requires voter registrants to be registered and be given unspecified training, doles out registration forms to groups in limits of 50, requires that each form be returned within 48 hours of being filled out, provides criminal penalties for intentional violations without specifying what "intentional" means, and otherwise imposes insuperable barriers to volunteers and recruiters of volunteers.

Plaintiffs say the thicket of regulations prevent the recruitment of volunteers, whose spontaneous efforts are key to voter registration drives.

Plaintiffs are the American Association of People with Disabilities, Federation of Women's Clubs Overseas, New Mexico Public Interest Group Education Fund, and the Southwest Organizing Project. The defendant is Secretary of State Mary Herrera.

The law at issue is New Mexico Statutes Section 1-4-49(a), with its implementing regulations, New Mexico Administrative Code Section 1.10.25.8.

Plaintiffs want it enjoined as unconstitutional. They are represented by John Boyd with Freedman Boyd Hollander.

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