NM elections No. 1 in MIT ranking

Of all the reforms passed during the administration of former Gov. Bill Richardson, and it was a busy eight years, perhaps none has had the same lasting positive impact as the election reform bill of 2005.

Before then, the state had no uniform system from county to county, and relied heavily on electronic voting machines with no paper trail. We were consistently ranked at the bottom of national reports on election security and convenience.

The 2005 law required all counties to use paper ballots that are scanned by a counting machine, and then saved for review later if needed. And it brought uniformity to the system.

With that and other changes, our elections are now the best administered in the nation, according to a recent report by MIT. The Election Performance Index looked at the 2022 election through 18 different metrics measuring access and security that are then averaged to give each state an EPI score. The lowest score was Mississippi, at 56 percent. Nothing new there. What is new is that New Mexico is not scraping with them to avoid the worst-place ranking.

Instead, we ranked first in the nation at 88 percent. That is up from just 62 percent in 2014, when we ranked 38th in the nation.

Our voter turnout and voter registration rates are still slightly below the national average, but both are on the rise. One of the most notable findings was that the wait time for voters in New Mexico is, on average, less than four minutes.

We also scored well for access to voter information, resolving problems with absentee ballots and a rejection rate for registrations of less than 1 percent. The national average is more than 6 percent.

Only 0.1 percent of our mail-in ballots were rejected, and none of those were military or overseas ballots. And we had a much smaller percentage of provisional ballots cast and rejected than other states. Those are ballots cast by voters when there is a dispute about their eligibility at the polling place.

I suppose critics can look at the small number of ballots rejected and argue that indicates a lack of security. But there is nothing in the rankings to back up that claim.

In 2023, the New Mexico Legislature passed a bill that automatically registers voters at the MVD; restores the voting rights of former convicts; creates a voluntary permanent absentee voter list; requires both same-day registration at polling places and at least two secured ballot drop boxes per county; and enacts the nation’s first Native American Voting Rights Act.

All of these changes will undoubtedly increase the number of eligible voters who participate in the election.

Voting has never been easier. Early voting started Tuesday at the County Government Building. If 2022 is any indication, there may be lines for the first few days, but they move quickly. Expanded early voting begins at sites throughout the county on Oct. 19.

I will have already voted by the time this is published, and will spend the rest of the election season as an interested spectator.

It is a fallacy to suggest we have to choose between security and convenience. With an adherence to uniform policies and procedures, we can and do have both. This national ranking is an affirmation of both our election laws and the men and women who faithfully execute them. It should give voters increased confidence when they go to the polls in the coming days.

Walter Rubel can be reached at waltrubel@gmail.com.