New Mexico's House Republican Leader Jim Townsend said he wants an investigation after allegations surfaced about a possible coordinated plan by left-leaning groups that involved paying people to influence the state's redistricting process.
New Mexico Ethics Watch executive director Kathleen Sabo told the Santa Fe New Mexican that her agency obtained copies of emails from the Center for Civic Policy and NAVA Education Project that offered $50 stipends in exchange for testimony that favored what they called "The People's Map" at redistricting meetings around the state.
"House GOP @LeaderTownsend is calling for an investigation into dark money groups seeking to influence the NM Citizen Redistricting Committee," New Mexico House Republicans wrote in a tweet. "#ThePeople deserve fairness, and the CRC must remain independent and nonpartisan."
According to a press release from the House GOP, Townsend has publicly asked the secretary of state and the State Ethics Commission to look into how the alleged activities were funded and whether they were spearheaded to undermine the work of the nonpartisan Citizen Redistricting Committee (CRC).
In the release, Townsend said the people of New Mexico "are tired of the dark-money influences that back the powerful in the Roundhouse" and have asked for politics to be left out of the redistricting process.
The Pinon Post reported that the Center for Civil Policy is a group funded by out-of-state billionaire financier George Soros.