ALBUQUERQUE, APRIL 24—At a press conference Wednesday on Senate Bill 16 (SB 16), the semi-open primary bill was presented as a win by NM Voters First, who lobbied in this year’s legislative session. The Republican Party of New Mexico (RPNM) cautions that this law, effective July 1, 2025, will allow Declined to State (DTS) voters to choose a ballot without changing to that respective party affiliation, which could impact the integrity of our elections.
RPNM has consistently encouraged Independent voters to participate in primaries. “For the last five years, the Republican Party has focused on community outreach to not only register voters but to also inform voters about policies that affect their everyday lives,” said Leticia Muñoz, RPNM Executive Director. “Voters have increasingly registered Republican and or Declined to State (DTS), otherwise known as Independents. The Democrat party is the party that has seen declining voter numbers since 2023. But make no mistake, we are the party that has consistently reached out to Independents informing them how they can vote in the primary elections year after year.”
However, SB 16 complicates this system. “Our biggest concern with SB 16 is election integrity,” Muñoz added. “We’ve seen challenges with same-day registration since its inception, and this bill adds another layer of vulnerability to our electoral process.” New Mexico’s election infrastructure is unprepared for the added burden, as evidenced by past same-day registration failures that crashed systems, delayed results, and increased provisional ballot errors.
Groups like NM Voters First claim SB 16 expands voter access, but it risks undermining the primary election by allowing ballot choices that have the potential to manipulate the voting results. “We have no concerns that Republicans would register as an independent to cast a Democrat ballot,” Muñoz said. “There’s simply no reason to ever do that. Our Party members make time to go vote FOR what they stand for, not against. We take pride in those ballots cast because we know the Republican Party stands for policies that benefit New Mexicans.”
RPNM will proactively monitor SB 16’s implementation and continue to organize volunteers to protect the integrity of our elections at each polling location.
