New Mexicans who want a voice in how redistricting is done in the state every decade will get the chance this year.
Redistricting meetings conducted by the newly minted New Mexico Citizen Redistricting Committee are scheduled around the state this month for public input in the process. These include meetings in West Mesa High School's Art Theater in Albuquerque on Aug. 7; San Juan College's Henderson Fine Arts Building, room 9008, in Farmington on Aug. 9; and Eastern New Mexico University's Instructional Technology Center in Roswell on Aug. 11.
"What that means is every ten years and the year ending in one, the U.S. Census Bureau issues official population data," retired New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Chávez, who chairs the redistricting committee, said in a widely published statement. "It's not only how many people live in our state but where they live and other demographic data."
Other appointed committee members are Ryan Cangiolosi, one-time Deputy Chief of Staff to former goernor Susana Martinez and now Economic and Community Development Director at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center; Lisa Curtis, a tort and election law attorney; Robert Rhatigan, a state demographer; Joaquín Sanchez, a public school teacher; Michael Sanchez, former State Senate majority leader; and Christopher Saucedo, New Mexico State University Board of Regents chair.
"The Citizen Redistricting Committee is an independent, non-partisan body tasked to develop and propose district maps for New Mexico’s Congressional delegation, the New Mexico Senate, the New Mexico House of Representatives, and the Public Education Commission," the committee says on its website. "The Committee will base its work on the guidelines set forth in the Redistricting Act and information and maps that New Mexicans submit."
The redistricting requires the committee hold at least 12 public meetings, six before coming up with a proposed redistricting plan and six after those plans are published. The meetings are to be throughout the state with at least one on tribal land, and all meetings to allow the public to attend virtually and following public health guidelines.
Anyone not vaccinated against COVID-10 who attend in-person meetings will be required to wear a face mask, while vaccinated attendees are still encouraged to mask up. Everyone will be encouraged to maintain social distance.
Anyone who would like to submit maps and comments without attending the meetings may do so via the state's mapping portal. All submissions on the mapping portal are public, have their own comment threads, and can be indexed and organized by hashtags, according to a committee press release issued last month.