We all need each other to have a successful election in Las Cruces this year. For the first time we will use ranked choice voting to determine the strongest support for mayor and city council candidates. While ranked choice voting has been used successfully in other countries and other cities in America, including Santa Fe, our task is to get each other up to speed on how ranked choice voting works. Together can make sure our election has the best impact on our city government and democracy.
With low voter turnout in local elections, recent reforms like ranked choice voting, consolidating elections, and same day voter registration have the potential to increase turnout and energize participation in local government. There is still much work to be done to further democratize and modernize elections in New Mexico, but our city’s collective ability to unite in voter education and participation will move us closer to a more inclusive and representative democracy.
