Legislation that will expand voting rights for New Mexico residents recently passed the Senate Rules Committee.  

Senate Bill 8 (SB8), also known as the New Mexico Voting Rights Act, will restore voting rights to felons, allow voters to vote with a Social Security number instead of a valid state ID, and implement other voting changes, according to KRQE.

SB8 will authorize "allowing access to lists of eligible but unregistered individuals; revising nominating petition signature requirements and allowing electronic signatures; providing that inmates are eligible to vote and register to vote upon release; [and] creating a voluntary, permanent absentee voter list," according to the text of the bill.

The bill originally had a clause that would have allowed 16-year-olds to vote in elections, but that provision has since been removed.

New Mexico Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth is going to meet with the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss if they should hear the bill before it moves on, said KRQE.