by Paul Dirdak
The purpose of nominating petitions is to assure all the voters that there is a sufficient consensus among at least some voters that the candidacy has some level of support. The candidacy is more than the single aspiration of an individual. It serves a similar function as seconding a motion made by another member of a body that follows Robert’s Rules of Order.
It's basically a mechanism to ensure the ballot contains only "reasonable" candidates. In New Mexico, you can only sign a petition for a candidate you're able to vote for (e.g., your representative, or any statewide office) but it does not mean you are going to vote for that candidate, only that you think the candidate should be on the ballot.
Once you've heard enough to think that people should have a chance to vote on a candidate, go ahead and sign their petition. And don't worry; if you later learn of a candidate that you're more likely to vote for, most likely they'll get enough petition signatures from other people to get on the ballot and you can vote for them in the election.
It's easy to do; just click here and follow the steps.
Using the online device is hugely preferable because it greatly reduces errors.
It will not allow you to sign a petition if you have already done so electronically, and forgotten you did, like old people (yours truly) too often do.
It will not allow you to sign a petition if you have already signed one for another candidate in the same race – that mistake, made on paper petitions, gets both signatures disqualified.
It only allows you to sign petitions that match the district in which you are registered to vote. This does not apply to state-wide offices, of course, such as AG, Secretary of State, Governor, Auditor, etc. But it matters a lot for members of the State Senate and the State House. Most disqualified signatures in my experience are by people who signed for a candidate for whom they could not vote anyway.
and you don’t have to find a pen.
💭 Remember, signing a petition does not mean that you even intend to vote for that candidate. In the remaining weeks of the campaign you may very well learn something that will cause you to shift your vote in some other direction. That is just fine, and in a democracy that is a key feature of voter education over several weeks. Your nominating signature only helps that candidate get on the ballot where the voters will decide the election.
Happy signing, and even happier voting!
Paul
Boy, howdy! Do they (we) ever.
But it’s quite a process and sometimes high drama.
So... save everyone some time and sign electronically! ✒️
