The bipartisan House Joint Resolution 1, a proposed constitutional amendment that could help end gerrymandering in New Mexico, is gaining momentum in the New Mexico Legislature as the Albuquerque Journal recently ran an editorial detailing gerrymandering in New Mexico.
“We are encouraged to see the Albuquerque Journal shedding light on the unfair and illegal gerrymandering of our congressional maps,” Republican Party of New Mexico (RPNM) Chairman Steve Pearce said in a press release. “RPNM will not let progressives silence the voices of rural New Mexicans to rig elections in their favor. These maps must be corrected, which is why we have presented our case before the New Mexico Supreme Court.”
Several months ago, the RPNM filed a case against the state of New Mexico, Grisham v. Van Soelen, in which Republicans claim that Democrats have unfairly gerrymandered the state against Republicans, N.M. Political Report said. In 2022, Democrats controlled all three of the state’s congressional districts, including the usually conservative 2nd District, after new boundaries were drawn.
The case identifies New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, former Speaker of the New Mexico House Brian Egolf, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico Lt. Gov. Howie Morales and New Mexico Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart as defendants.
The New Mexico Supreme Court heard the lawsuit on Jan. 9. There is currently no set date for a verdict.
"Republicans are fighting to ensure fair representation for all New Mexicans, but progressives are fighting for one-party rule and, in their own words, ‘anti-democratic’ policies,” Pearce said. “We hope to hear a favorable ruling from the New Mexico Supreme Court soon.”
New Mexico created the Citizen Redistricting Committee (CRC) in 2021, but the congressional maps that CRC recommended were not used when they were finalized in December 2021. The editorial in the Albuquerque Journal calls New Mexico “one of the most gerrymandered congressional maps in the nation — one that divides communities of interest and governmental subdivisions.”
House Joint Resolution 1, sponsored by Reps. Natalie Figueroa (D-Albuquerque) and Jason Harper (R-Rio Rancho), would go before voters in November 2024. If ratified, it would mandate that New Mexican congressional districts be drawn up by an independent committee, not politicians. It would basically be as if the CRC were allowed to draw the maps, instead of just suggesting the boundaries, the Journal reported.
