TRIP JENNINGS, SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN
New Mexico must make voter registration easier for thousands of individuals seeking low-income health care benefits, a federal judge said Tuesday.
Calling it a major win, voter-rights advocates described Tuesday’s ruling against New Mexico as not only clearing the way for easier voter registration for thousands of New Mexicans but also as a warning shot to other states engaged in similar practices.
“It’s a very big deal,” said Nicole Zeitler of Project Vote, one of the organizations representing the plaintiff that sued New Mexico. “This is the first time that a court has made a ruling on this specific issue. This federal district judge spelled it out. They have to give out their forms. It’s not up to the client to ask for it.”
Currently, the New Mexico Human Services Department doesn’t automatically hand voter-registration forms to individuals who show up at one of the agency’s 35 offices to accomplish one of three tasks: apply for low-income health care benefits; recertify that they are eligible for the benefits; or to change their address. Instead, state workers wait for applicants to ask them for the forms before handing them over.
In a 23-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Judith Herrera said the state agency’s policy violated the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and that the agency must change its practice so that voter-registration forms are given to applicants regardless of whether they ask for them.
The New Mexico Human Services Department had no comment Wednesday on the ruling beyond saying it was determining whether to appeal, a spokesperson said.
Read the original Santa Fe New Mexican story here.