State ex rel. League of Women Voters v. Advisory Comm. to the N.M. Compilation Comm'n

Summary

The New Mexico Supreme Court held that amendments to Article VII, Section 1 of the New Mexico Constitution that received simple-majority approval from voters were validly ratified under the 1996 amendment to Article XIX, Section 1, despite not receiving the three-fourths vote otherwise required by Article VII, Section 3. The Court held that the petition was not an untimely election contest, that the Advisory Committee was a proper respondent, and issued a writ of mandamus directing action regarding compilation of the amendments.

Holdings

1. The Court may confer standing when a proceeding presents a matter of great public importance, and the League had standing because the validity of constitutional amendments directly implicating the right to vote presented such a matter.
2. The petition was not an election contest subject to the Election Code's thirty-day limitation period because it challenged the constitutional meaning and effect of uncontested election results rather than the election results or validity of the election process.
3. The Advisory Committee was a proper respondent because its advice and approval were conditions precedent to the Compilation Commission's authority to compile constitutional amendments.
4. The 1996 amendment to Article XIX, Section 1 controls over the conflicting language in Article VII, Section 3 and requires a three-fourths vote only for amendments that restrict the rights created by Article VII, Section 1; amendments that expand or do not restrict voting rights require only a simple majority.
5. The 2008 and 2014 amendments were effective because their gender-neutral wording and changes permitting school elections to occur with nonpartisan elections were neutral with respect to, or at least did not restrict, the rights created by Article VII, Section 1.
6. The 2010 amendment was effective because it expanded or did not restrict voting rights and therefore became part of the Constitution upon receiving more than fifty percent of the popular vote.
7. The 2014 amendment did not repeal or displace the 2010 amendment; Article VII, Section 1 must be compiled to include both amendments.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the League of Women Voters had standing to seek mandamus concerning the validity and compilation of constitutional amendments.
2. Whether the petition was an untimely election contest under NMSA 1978, Section 1-14-3.
3. Whether the Advisory Committee to the New Mexico Compilation Commission was a proper respondent.
4. Whether the 1996 amendment to Article XIX, Section 1 altered the three-fourths requirement so that only amendments restricting voting rights require a supermajority.
5. Whether the 2008, 2010, and 2014 amendments to Article VII, Section 1 were effective upon receiving a simple majority of the popular vote.
6. Whether the 2014 amendment repealed or otherwise displaced the 2010 amendment concerning voter qualifications.

Disposition

writ_granted