There is a City Council proposal in Albuquerque (O-13-52) that would reduce the early voting period from 20 days to 7 days prior to a runoff election. It was filed by Councilor Don Harris last month – we think it is important to defeat this measure given the new 50% rule and the GOTV challenges everyone will be facing during these low turnout municipal elections in the future. Please distribute this widely and encourage people to come to the City Council Finance and Government Operations (FGO) Meeting on MONDAY, June 10 at 5 PM to oppose this ordinance. Here are the meeting details: Finance and Government Operations (FGO) Meetings are held in the Council Committee Room 9th floor, Suite 9081 of the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Government Center building, One Civic Plaza NW. All meetings begin at 5 p.m., unless another time is indicated on the agenda. All meetings are open to the general public. Some talking points on why we need the full ABQ Runoff Election Early Voting Period 1. Don’t restrict the Albuquerque runoff early voting period to 7 days! 2. Our voting system should be free, fair and accessible for all voters in Albuquerque. a. We should not be passing laws that create new barriers for eligible voters, or that deny them the opportunity to participate equally in our democracy. 3. We should support policies that promote voter turnout in municipal elections. a. Limiting the early voting period to 7 days in the runoff election will seriously hinder voter participation in our democracy. b. City elections already have historically low turnout. We should not do anything that reduces turnout further. 4. Albuquerque needs to modernize our election system. a. Early voting periods support our basic rights as citizens by making voting more accessible for those who make a responsible choice to vote. It is an important step toward modernizing our elections. We should be expanding these periods, not restricting them. b. We have a responsibility to implement a modern election system for Albuquerque that will include more eligible voters and build confidence in the electoral process. Viki Harrison Executive Director Common Cause New Mexico PO Box 278 Albuquerque, NM 87103 505.205.3750 (cell)
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:01:36 +0000