| Congressional Boundaries | Drawn by legislature with advisory commission |
| State Boundaries | Drawn by legislature with advisory commission |
| Governor's Party | Democratic |
| Legislative Party | Democratic |
Scored Maps from the Redistricting Report Card
Related content
Communities of Interest
Check out Communities of Interest collected in this state on Representable
Learn about Communities of Interest in this state
Census-related Redistricting Timeline Delays
State Legislative
Alert: Guarded| Final Map Deadline | 2021-10-30 |
| Deadline Type | Statutory (commission submission to legislature)
|
| Other Dates |
|
| News Sources | New Mexico's special legislative session on redistricting could be delayed |
| Actions Proposed in State | Special session |
Congressional
Alert: Guarded| Final Map Deadline | 2021-10-30 |
| Deadline Type | Statutory (commission submission to legislature)
|
| Other Dates |
|
| News Sources | New Mexico's special legislative session on redistricting could be delayed |
| Actions Proposed in State | Special session |
Process
State Legislature
New Mexico's state legislative and congressional districts are drawn by the state Legislature by ordinary statute, and are subject to the Governor's veto. The Legislature can override vetoes with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
Advisory Commission
In March 2021, the New Mexico legislature passed Senate Bill 304, creating a Citizen Redistricting Committee charged with proposing district plans. The Committee is comprised of seven members, four who are appointed by the state legislative leaders, two who must be nonpartisan and are appointed by the State Ethics Commission, and a chair who is a retired state Supreme Court or Court of Appeals judge.
Criteria
While New Mexico, like all states, must follow the federal requirements of one person, one vote and the Voting Rights Act, its state constitution does not list additional criteria. New Mexico statutes (§§ 2-8D-2, 2-7C-3) require districts to be contiguous and compact. In addition, the Legislature adopted further guidelines in the last redistricting cycle, stating that districts should preserve communities of interest, respect political subdivisions, and preserve the core of existing districts. The residence of incumbents may be considered.
The Citizen Redistricting Committee has its own set of criteria: equal population, Voting Rights Act, no split precincts, contiguity, compactness, communities of interest, core of existing districts, no consideration of partisan data, and no consideration of incumbents.
Public Input
The New Mexico Citizens Redistricting Committee has released its website, where the public can find relevant information and a portal to submit comments.
Though New Mexico law does not require public hearings, the legislative redistricting committee held meetings in eight cities between July and August 2011. It is likely that there will be similar opportunities for public input in 2021.
2011 Cycle
In 2011, the final congressional, state Senate, and state House district maps were all issued by state courts. The New Mexico Supreme Court consolidated all redistricting lawsuits under one case in the 1st Judicial District Court. On December 29, the trial court issued a congressional plan, largely preserving the existing districts. In January 2012, the court issued state Senate and state House plans. However, the state Supreme Court struck down the state House districts, ordering the trial court to reconsider partisan impact and incumbent pairings of the plan, as well as to recognize a district protecting Hispanic voters. The trial court issued a new state House plan on February 27. This legal process for redistricting cost taxpayers $3 million in attorneys’ fees.
Issues
Pitfalls
Both chambers of the Legislature and the Governorship are controlled by Democrats. Single-party control increases risk of partisan gerrymandering.
New Mexico has varied ethnic communities predating the United States. These are unusual and important local circumstances requiring protection in the districting process. In the most recent redistricting cycle, Native American leaders urged legislators to preserve majority-minority districts to protect native representation, presenting redistricting principles and demonstrative maps that respect tribal self-determination.
Actions
In 2021, participate in the Citizen Redistricting Committee’s public input process.
- Obtain New Mexico redistricting data from OpenPrecincts.
- Start to plan out what defines your community – whether it’s a shared economic interest, school districts, or other social or other cultural, historical, or economic interests – and how that can be represented on a map. This will come in handy once the Committee starts collecting feedback.
- Use software tools such as Dave's Redistricting App and Districtr to draw district maps showing either (a) what a fair map would look like, or (b) where the community you believe should be better represented is located.
Contacts
League of Women Voters of New Mexico