Ariana Marmolejo Regional Communications Strategist (West) | Conservation Voters New Mexico
Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM) marked the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act by reflecting on its legacy and ongoing challenges to voting protections across the United States. The organization noted that while the Act, passed in 1965, was a result of years of civil rights advocacy and aimed to enforce the anti-discrimination provisions of the 14th and 15th Amendments, efforts to maintain robust voting rights have continued.
In recent years, New Mexico lawmakers have taken steps to strengthen these protections. In 2023, they enacted the New Mexico Voting Rights Act, which included measures specifically safeguarding Indigenous voting rights through the Native American Voting Rights Act. This made New Mexico the first state to codify such protections for Indigenous voters.
John Martinez, CVNM Political Director, commented on these developments: “An equitable and just democracy is essential to ensuring our government serves and represents all communities. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark law that advanced the democratic promise of America. However, the communities hardest hit by climate change and plagued by legacy pollution – rural, Indigenous, and communities of color – have also continued to be suppressed and face historically disproportionate obstacles to civic engagement. Here in New Mexico, lawmakers addressed this head on through the passage of the New Mexico Voting Rights Act in 2023. A crowning achievement of this policy was the 2023 Native American Voting Rights Act, making New Mexico the first state to put protecting the Indigenous vote into statute. As a nation, we now face troubling times, where free and fair elections can no longer be taken for granted. We applaud New Mexico leaders for adopting strong measures to protect our democracy, and look forward to working with our allies to ensure that the Land of Enchantment remains a leader in election access.”
The original federal Voting Rights Act established oversight mechanisms for states with histories of discrimination in voting practices. These included requirements for certain jurisdictions to obtain federal approval before changing election laws—a process known as “preclearance.” Over time, Supreme Court decisions weakened several key provisions. Notably, in Shelby County v Holder (2013), a divided Court invalidated the coverage formula that determined which states were subject to preclearance requirements. The majority argued that using decades-old data violated principles of federalism.
Following this decision, many states previously under federal oversight conducted extensive voter roll purges (see https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1532673X20935713). More recently, legal debates continue regarding how racial discrimination is defined within redistricting cases before the Supreme Court (see https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/08/supreme-court-louisiana-voting-rights-act.html).
CVNM describes itself as a nonpartisan nonprofit organization focused on connecting residents with their political power in order to safeguard natural resources throughout New Mexico.
