Democracy

The fight for voting rights remains critical as states across the US are trying to make it harder for voters to cast their ballots. We’re seeing voter suppression tactics increase across the country – including voter registration obstacles, limiting early voting options, and walking back access to mail-in ballots. The Center for Civic Policy is partnering with organizations in 2023 to pass multiple voting rights legislations that will restore the voting rights of previously incarcerated people, increase access to voting for tribal communities, make voter registration easier, and expand voters’ options to cast their ballot.

Voters should feel safe when they cast their votes – full stop. The Center for Civic Policy supports New Mexico’s Secretary of State and our state’s Voter Bill of Rights and will continue our work to fight disinformation and voter intimidation. CCP supports our community partners who train poll watchers and poll monitors, increasing the safety and credibility of our elections. 

New Mexico is the last state to utilize a “Citizen Legislature” – meaning our elected officials and staff in the Roundhouse are unsalaried. This may have made sense when our state was founded, but the system no longer serves our communities and CCP is proud to be a part of the efforts to modernize our legislative bodies and infrastructure. This will include a salary for legislators, increasing capacity with paid internal staff, and increasing the length of our legislative sessions to ensure important bills and policies are not stalled or curtailed.