The CEO of Better Together New Mexico, Carla Sonntag, thinks the organization is gaining momentum in ways that could impact the laws of New Mexico. 

Better Together New Mexico’s Referendum Project is challenging six new state laws due to go into effect on July 1. The organization is collecting signatures to have repeals of those laws placed on the 2024 ballot for New Mexican voters to decide, a press release from the organization said.

“We won’t stop gathering petition signatures until every concerned New Mexican has the opportunity to fully understand what has happened to their rights and has the opportunity to sign the petition,” Carla Sonntag, CEO of Better Together New Mexico, said in the press release. “And in November 2024, they will have the right to vote on these laws that have a profound impact on our children, families, and communities.” 

According to Better Together New Mexico, the constitution of New Mexico allows for New Mexicans to “disapprove, suspend, or annul any law enacted by the legislature,” and they intend to do this for six recently passed laws. The Referendum Project was created to put those six laws into the referendum process. If they succeed, these laws would be put on the 2024 ballot for New Mexicans to vote on directly, the group says.

This campaign is being supported by “large national corporations, national media, and religious leaders from around the state and country,” according to Better Together New Mexico.

When asked what the interest of the project is, Ramona Goolsby, a founder of the Referendum Project, said it is “protecting our children from being permanent victims of an unproven ideology; protecting our families from being decimated by removing parents' rights, protecting our communities right to self-govern from state governmental overreach; protecting our right of free speech; protecting the people’s right to seek justice for crimes; protecting our country from the rogue idea that a state can refuse to honor another state's legal process; protect our right to choose to participate in elections; protect the right to privacy in our personal business; protect the right of the people to know their elections are secure and transparent. This is not an exhaustive list but just the beginning because there are always unforeseen consequences of every action.” This interview was provided to the New Mexico Sun.

According to Better Together New Mexico, New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver is attempting to circumvent the referendum process on these bills, a power that the group says she does not have. The group recently filed ethics complaints against Oliver and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez with the New Mexico State Ethics Commission.

The Referendum Project is a part of Better Together New Mexico, which is a statewide nonpartisan organization that is hoping to “unite, activate, and empower all those who want to drive New Mexico to reach its full potential,” according to its website.