Summary: What happened in the 2023 legislative session?

The Legislature considered House Joint Resolution 1 (HJR-1), which would have constitutionally established an Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) to draw fair voting boundaries every ten years. The IRC would handle the process for the specific elected offices: U.S. Congress, NM Senate, NM House and the NM Public Education Commission.

The bill died in committee before going the NM House floor.

This bill would have finished the reform process begun in 2022 by establishing an independent redistricting commission rather than an advisory one. This change would enable New Mexico to align with best practices nationally:

• 29 states have some type of redistricting commissions.
• 15 of those states put the primary map-drawing responsibilities in the hands of their commissions.
• New Mexico’s proposed law aligns with the gold standard states of Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, and California.

More importantly, passage of HJR 1 would have advanced voter trust during a time when partisanship and polarization have caused people to have less trust in our election process than ever before.