Lujan Grisham signs voting rights bill into law

Mar. 30—Calling it a template for other states in the nation, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a sweeping voting protections bill into law Thursday.

The legislation, known as House Bill 4, restores the voting rights of convicted felons the day they get out of prison and institutes an automatic voter registration system through the Motor Vehicle Division. It also creates a permanent absentee voter list and makes Election Day a state holiday.

The measure, crafted by a coalition of advocacy organizations and tribes, enacts the Native American Voting Rights Act, which supporters said is the most significant Native American voting rights legislation in the country. The new law, for example, allows voters living on tribal land to designate a tribal government building as their mailing address.

"It shouldn't be lost on anyone that this country has not made voting for Native Americans, women and any number of individuals and groups readily accessible and protected, and it's really an outrage," the governor said during the bill signing ceremony at the Capitol.

"I am very proud that this coalition and the Legislature and the secretary of state have made it clear that this is codified in statute and will be the template for every other state in the country — and frankly, it ought to be in federal damn law," she said, generating applause.

Ahtza Chavez, executive director of NM Native Vote, called the Native American Voting Rights Act "truly monumental reform" that will require collaboration with tribes at all levels, particularly in the creation of precinct boundaries.

"I do not find it mere coincidence that we're gathered here during the 75th anniversary of Trujillo v. Garley, wherein Native people were granted the right to suffrage in New Mexico as a result of the immeasurable activism from Miguel Trujillo and countless others," she said, referring to the late Isleta Pueblo educator and World War II veteran who successfully fought in 1948 for the right of Native Americans to vote in the state.

The bill was carried by House Speaker Javier Martínez and other Democratic leaders during the 60-day session.

"This bill will be a North Star for the rest of the country," Martínez said.

"As the rest of the country, as other states, roll back access to the ballot box and voter protections, New Mexico is leading the way," he added.

A similar bill died by filibuster in the final hours of last year's legislative session and also sparked controversy after a female lobbyist accused Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, the former chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, of deliberately stalling the legislation after she confronted him about years-old groping allegations, which Ivey-Soto has denied.

Martínez thanked the governor for her "steadfast commitment to this issue" and his co-sponsors "for shepherding this very complex and very important piece of legislation through the process and getting it done with very little drama at the end of the day."

Republicans tried to add a voter identification requirement to the bill and opponents argued the measure would compromise election integrity, particularly with a permanent absentee voter list.

Martínez said the new law will be a tool to give a voice to the voiceless and help transform the idea of what democracy looks like.

"Democracy looks like this room," he said, referring to the diversity of people attending the bill signing ceremony. "Even though some folks in other parts of the country may not like it, this is democracy and this is the United States of America, and I'm proud that New Mexico is leading the way."

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.