Issues for Election 2004

City Street Bond Issue

Save and value our public Native American heritage. Don't allow the Petroglyph National Monument to be desecrated by roads. Vote NO on the Unser and Paseo Extensions. Ring roads only.

How you will see the issue on the ballot Nov 2.

City Street Bond Issue

Shall the City of Albuquerque issue $52,377,497 of its general obligation bonds to study, design, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, renovate, sign, enhance, landscape and otherwise improve, and to acquire land and equipment for, municipal streets, roads, trails, bikeways, walkways, sidewalks, railroad crossings and bridges?

Constitutional Amendment 3

How you will see the issue on the ballot Nov 2:

Proposing an amendment to article 7 of the Constitution of New Mexico to allow Runoff Elections for municipalities which have a population over 20,000 and for certain elections as provided by law.

This amendment will also allow municipalities with a population of 20,000 or fewer to provide for run-off elections. (This analysis is provided by the Secretary of State persuant to Section 1-16-7, NMSA 1978)

League of Women Voters analysis (Voting Guide Nov. 2004):

Constitutional Amendment 3 would amend article 7, section 5 of the New Mexico State Constitution to permit municipalities to hold runoff elections that do not produce a candidate who has received a statistically significant portion of the vote. If the municipality has not adopted a charter, then run-ff elections may be held as provided by ordinance.

Arguments for:

The current constitution provides that the candidate who receives highest number of votes wins. The amendment provides for runoff elections as provided by charter or by ordinance.

Municipal elections are nonpartisan; any person who obtains the required number of quialified petition signatories can become a candidate. In some communities, there may be more than two candidates for any office. When there are two or more popular and well-known candidates on the ballot, there is a high probablility that no one person will receive a majority of the votes; in fact, the popular candidates may split the vote and a less popular candidate could be the winner.

Under the current system a voter may vote for one of the more popular candidates rather than "wasting" a vote on a preferred candidate who has little prospect of winning. Runoff elections, however, would give voters an incentive to support their favorite candidates in the first round rather than casting a vote for a frontrunner.

The Green Party has become an active force in NM politics. With three major parties fielding candidates, although the elections are nonpartisan, it is likely that no candidate will receive a majority of the votes. Under these conditions, it is wise to have runoff elections. Elections that have only two candidates are often decided by a very small percentage of the voters, and three-way (or more) races are decided by even fewer voters. Runoff elections maximize the voices of the majority.

This could be the first step in providing for runoff elections for other elections including partisan elections.