Thorny redistricting issue may resurface this legislative session

Voter groups pushing for permanent independent body to redraw maps

BY DAN MCKAY

JOURNAL CAPITOL BUREAU

SANTA FE — Just last month, New Mexico legislators concluded a fierce debate over redrawing their own boundaries and establishing a new congressional map.

Next, they may decide whether that debate should be the last of its kind.

Fair Districts New Mexico, a coalition backed by the League of Women Voters, is pushing legislators to support a constitutional amendment in the upcoming session that would take the map-making out of lawmakers’ hands.

Instead, an independent body — perhaps something similar to this year’s Citizen Redistricting Committee, which made nonbinding recommendations — would draw the boundaries.

But lawmakers, even those who support the concept, are divided over whether now is the right time to return to such a contentious subject.

State Rep. Natalie Figueroa, D-Albuquerque, said she plans to introduce a constitutional amendment this session to capitalize on the desire to ensure a fair, transparent process when boundaries are redrawn in 10 years.

“I just hope we do it before we lose sight of the lessons we’ve learned,” Figueroa said in an interview this week.

If a proposal is introduced, a mix of Republicans and Democrats is expected to sign on, signaling a debate that cuts across party lines. Democrats hold large majorities in both chambers, but last year’s legislation creating the Citizen Redistricting Committee won bipartisan support.

Republican Rep. Kelly Fajardo of Los Lunas said she would co-sponsor a constitutional amendment if it’s introduced.

“I don’t think politicians should be in charge of the lines,” she said. “I think we have an interest in protecting ourselves more than we have an interest in the public.”

But Sen. Bill O’Neill, an Albuquerque Democrat who has long supported independent redistricting, said he doesn’t think there’s “much of an appetite” for action on a constitutional change this year.

“I think a lot of us are a bit worn out and bruised from this last redistricting session,” he said.

No constitutional amendment has been prefiled yet ahead of the 30-day session that starts Jan. 18, so the scope of what might be proposed isn’t clear.

Figueroa said she wants to ensure the independent redistricting panel reflects New Mexico’s geographic and political diversity.

Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, an Albuquerque Democrat and chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, which vets constitutional amendments, said New Mexico should create an independent commission that handles redistricting not just for state office but also the offices of local governments.

Introduction of a constitutional amendment doesn’t require Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s approval, and if passed by the Legislature, it would go directly to voters, not to the governor.

Citizen committee deployed

For the first time, New Mexico in 2021 deployed a Citizen Redistricting Committee to accept public testimony in hearings throughout the state and issue three options to legislators for each redistricting task — Congress, state House, state Senate and the Public Education Commission.

The seven-person panel — appointed by legislative leaders and the State Ethics Commission — was barred from considering political data in its work, and it was directed to place less emphasis on where incumbents live.

The committee recommendations weren’t binding.

In last month’s special session, the Democratic majorities in the Legislature revised the recommended maps — sometimes substantially — and adopted them over the opposition of Republicans, whose objections varied, depending on the map at hand.

In the congressional plan, for example, Republicans contend the new layout discards New Mexico’s long-standing orientation of three seats — one in Albuquerque, a second in southern New Mexico and a third in the north.

The new map breaks the conservative southeast part of the state into multiple districts and gives Democrats an edge in every district, based on voting trends over the last 10 years. It moves much of Albuquerque’s West Side into the southern- based congressional district now held by the only Republican in the delegation, Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo.

Democrats, in turn, said the legislation creates more competitive seats by giving each district a mix of urban and rural communities.

‘Behind closed doors’

Fair Districts New Mexico hasn’t weighed in on the congressional map.

But for the legislative districts, the organization said the state House map generally matches a proposal by the Citizen Redistricting Committee, with some changes made to reflect the wishes of Native American communities.

The Senate map, by contrast, was crafted largely in private, and it isn’t clear to what extent the senators considered the committee recommendations, according to Fair Districts New Mexico.

“They chose to design their own map, which was done behind closed doors,” said Kathleen Burke, project coordinator for Fair Districts.

She said the coalition believes it’s time to grant the map-making power to an independent body.

“When that power rests in the hands of the legislators,” Burke said, “there is always the temptation to draw lines that serve the personal or political interests of the individual legislators. It’s essentially a conflict of interest.”

The deadline to introduce legislation in the 30-day session is the halfway point, Feb. 2.