State Ballot Measures

New Mexico Bond Question 1, Senior Citizen Facilities Bond Issue (2026)

“The 2026 Capital Projects General Obligation Bond Act authorizes the issuance and sale of senior citizen facility improvement, construction and equipment acquisition bonds. Shall the state be authorized to issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) to make capital expenditures for certain senior citizen facility improvement, construction and equipment acquisition projects and provide for a general property tax imposition and levy for the payment of principal of, interest on and expenses incurred in connection with the issuance of the bonds and the collection of the tax as permitted by law?”

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: This bond is needed for the state to provide care for elderly community members.

New Mexico Bond Question 2, Library Acquisition Bond Issue (2026)

“The 2026 Capital Projects General Obligation Bond Act authorizes the issuance and sale of library acquisition bonds. Shall the state be authorized to issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) to make capital expenditures for academic, public school, tribal and public library resource acquisitions and provide for a general property tax imposition and levy for the payment of principal of, interest on and expenses incurred in connection with the issuance of the bonds and the collection of the tax as permitted by law?”

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: This bond is needed for the state to provide educational resources to the public.

New Mexico Bond Question 3, Higher Education Improvements Bond Issue (2026)

“The 2026 Capital Projects General Obligation Bond Act authorizes the issuance and sale of higher education, special schools and tribal schools capital improvement and acquisition bonds. Shall the state be authorized to issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed two hundred thirty million dollars ($230,000,000) to make capital expenditures for certain higher education, special schools and tribal schools capital improvements and acquisitions and provide for a general property tax imposition and levy for the payment of principal of, interest on and expenses incurred in connection with the issuance of the bonds and the collection of the tax as permitted by law?”

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: This bond is needed for the state to provide higher educational services to the general public and to multiple historically underserved communities. Also, a similar bond question submitted on ballot within the past 2 decades was the only question rejected (Ballotpedia 2026) and this would help recoup funding for these services.

New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 1, Eliminate Governor’s Pocket Veto and Require Veto Explanations Amendment (2026)

“Proposing an amendment to Article 4, Section 22 of the Constitution of New Mexico to require the governor to provide veto messages on all bills vetoed in whole or in part and to provide that all bills passed by the legislature and not acted on by the governor will become law.”

Recommendation:Yes

Reasoning: This bill if passed would enable a more democratic and transparent way of preventing the creation of laws by requiring the New Mexico state executive give some statement of reasoning for vetoing bills. This amendment would also discontinue the untransparent and undemocratic mechanism of the pocket veto.

New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 2, Repeal Separate Election Requirement for School Election Dates Amendment (2026)

“Proposing to amend article78, section 1 of the constitution of New Mexico to remove the requirement that school elections be separate from partisan elections.”

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: This amendment if passed would allow for more participation in the democratic process as it would allow for state funding of these elections rather than the separate schools funding them. This streamlining would increase the number of school districts able to participate in these elections as funding would no longer be a barrier and it would increase the amount of voter participation as it would include those who habitually only vote during partisan election cycles. However, this amendment would not allow for the partisan ballot lines of school board candidates on the election ballot.

New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 3, Board of Regents Nominating Committees Amendment (2026)

“Proposing an amendment to Article 12, Section 13 of the constitution of New Mexico to establish nominating committees to provide lists of nominees to the governor for appointment of nonstudent members to the Board of Regents of state educational institutions; providing that student members of the boards of regents shall be appointed from a list provided by an elected student governing body of the institution; providing that, except for a student member, members of the Boards of Regents shall not have changed their political party registration in the twelve months preceding appointment.”

Recommendation:No Recommendation

Reasoning: While this amendment would make some progressive changes, such as providing greater student input in the Board of Regents, the provisions also push the flawed notion of forced partisan balance on the board, leading to an ideological representation that does not necessarily reflect the values of NM voters. We leave it to members to weigh the benefits and drawbacks.

New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 4, Establish Salary for State Legislators Amendment (2026)

“Proposing to amend Article 4, Section 10 of the constitution of New Mexico to allow legislative compensation that is limited to the median household income for New Mexico, to require legislative compensation to be reduced if the median household income for New Mexico falls, to allow legislative compensation to be increased only if the median household income for New Mexico rises and to provide for delayed implementation.”

Endorsed by chapter

Reasoning: Passing this amendment would make it much easier for working class people who have recent experience working ordinary jobs and who are not financially well-off to run as candidates for the state legislature.

Local Ballot Measures

Albuquerque, NM

Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority, New Mexico, Improve Flood Control System Bond Measure (November 2026)

“Shall the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority be authorized to issue its general obligation bonds in principal amount- not exceeding $30,000 000 for the extension betterment, alteration, reconstruction, repair and other improvements of the Authority's flood control system?”

Recommendation:Yes

Reasoning:As FEMA has halted or cut much of its Building Resilience in Communities (BRIC) funding, other sources of funding are required to ensure that our local facilities stay up-to-code for community safety. This type of flood infrustrue is likely to be even more important going forward now that what we use to call ‘500-year’ flood events now happen about every other year.

Albuquerque, New Mexico, Make Director of Albuquerque Community Safety an Appointed Role Amendment (November 2026)

“Shall the Charter of the City of Albuquerque be amended to designate the Director of Albuquerque Community Safety as the "ACS Chief" and require that this position be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the City Council, subject to the same confirmation, employment agreement, and removal terms currently applied to the Police Chief and Fire Chief?”

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: Elevating the pro-employee hiring conditions and pension status for this position will give the ACS Chief greater power to counterbalance the power of uniformed police and may help promote the legitimacy of non-police first response in general. This would also give more oversight over ACS by the Albuquerque City Council.

Albuquerque, New Mexico, Reallocate Funds for City Services Measure (November 2026)

“Shall the City of Albuquerque amend the Public Safety Gross Receipts Tax to divide funds amongst updated city services? The money would be divided as follows: Police 35%; Fire 38%; Albuquerque Community Safety 8%; Health, Housing, and Homelessness 8%; Prisoner Transport 6%; and Code Enforcement 5%. This would not increase the tax rate.”

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: While we have concerns over the police spending provisions here, we overall believe this to be a net benefit given the funding provided for ACS and homeless services, combined with the previous measure would reduce the long term reliance on police as the main provider of public safety.

Albuquerque, New Mexico, Remove Voter Approval Requirement for Art Center Funding Amendment (November 2026)

“Shall the Charter of the City of Albuquerque be amended to repeal Article XI, Section 7, which requires voter approval before the City may appropriate more than $10 million for a performing arts center so that future funding of any amount would no longer require a separate vote?”

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: We believe this would provide longer term and more reliable funding for the arts, which is a critical investment in the modern neoliberal era that has relentlessly attacked the arts and humanities.

Bernalillo County

Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Improve County Facilities Bond Measure (November 2026)

“Shall Bernalillo County, New Mexico, be authorized to issue its general obligation bonds, in one series or more, in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding $8,900,000 for the purpose of acquiring property, planning, designing, upgrading, constructing, remodeling, purchasing, furnishing, equipping, repairing and otherwise improving, County facilities and fleet, including but not limited to health and public safety facilities, fire station and law enforcement facilities, jail and detention center facilities, courthouse facilities, youth and family service center and learning facilities, visitors center facilities, necessary redevelopment of facilities, and replacement of fleet vehicles and heavy equipment, and construction and improvements required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, said bonds to be payable from general (ad valorem) taxes, and to be issued and sold at such time or times and upon such terms and conditions as the Board of County Commissioners may determine and as permitted by law?”

Recommendation: No Recommendation

Reasoning: While we acknowledge that many of our public facilities are in need of improvements and funding, we are concerned in principle about the constant expansion of prisons and carceral infrastructure. We leave it to members to weigh the harm reduction benefits of this measure versus the principle of the funding for jails.

Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Improve Housing Facilities Bond Measure (November 2026)

“Shall Bernalillo County, New Mexico, be authorized to issue its general obligation bonds, in one series or more, in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding $6,000,000 for the purpose of acquiring property, planning, designing, upgrading, constructing, remodeling, rehabilitating, furnishing, equipping, repairing and otherwise improving housing facilities within the County, said bonds to be payable from general (ad valorem) taxes, and to be issued and sold at such time or times and upon such terms and conditions as the Board of County Commissioners may determine and as permitted by law?”

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: This bond measure is needed to acquire funding for improving public housing in Bernalillo County, a public good.

Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Improve Parks and Recreational Facilities Bond Measure (November 2026)

“Shall Bernalillo County, New Mexico, be authorized to issue its general obligation bonds, in one series or more, in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding $20,384,920 for the purpose of acquiring property, planning, designing, upgrading, constructing, remodeling, furnishing, equipping, repairing and otherwise improving park and recreational facilities within the County, including but not limited to parks, aquatic centers, community centers, playgrounds, ball fields, open spaces, cultural and educational facilities, community recreation centers and pools, and necessary redevelopment of facilities, and construction and improvements required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, said bonds to be payable from general (ad valorem) taxes, and to be issued and sold at such time or times and upon such terms and conditions as the Board of County Commissioners may determine and as permitted by law? “

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: This bond measure is needed to acquire funding for improving public parks in Bernalillo County, a public good.

Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Improve Transportation Facilities Bond Measure (November 2026)

“Shall Bernalillo County, New Mexico, be authorized to issue its general obligation bonds, in one series or more, in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding $6,215,080 for the purpose of acquiring property, planning, designing, upgrading, constructing, rehabilitating, furnishing, equipping, repairing and otherwise improving transportation facilities within the County, including but not limited to roads, non-motor vehicle pathways, bridges, traffic calming facilities, guardrails, bike lanes, trails, sidewalks, transit improvements, paving, landscaping, traffic signals and other street improvements, and necessary construction and improvements required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, said bonds to be payable from general (ad valorem) taxes, and to be issued and sold at such time or times and upon such terms and conditions as the Board of County Commissioners may determine and as permitted by law?”

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: This bond measure is needed to acquire funding for improving public transportation in Bernalillo County, a public good.

Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Improve Water Infrastructure Bond Measure (November 2026)

“Shall Bernalillo County, New Mexico, be authorized to issue its general obligation bonds, in one series or more, in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding $1,000,000 for the purpose of acquiring property, planning, designing, upgrading, constructing, rehabilitating, equipping, repairing and otherwise improving drainage and utility infrastructure, including but not limited to storm sewer and drainage, wastewater, water and drainage systems and facilities within Bernalillo County, New Mexico, said bonds to be payable from general (ad valorem) taxes, and to be issued and sold at such time or times and upon such terms and conditions as the Board of County Commissioners may determine and as permitted by law?”

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: This bond measure is needed to acquire funding for improving public water utilities and infrastructure in Bernalillo County, a public good and necessary for community resilience in preparation for flooding disasters.

Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Purchase Library Materials and Resources Bond Measure (November 2026)

“Shall Bernalillo County, New Mexico, be authorized to issue its general obligation bonds, in one series or more, in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding $2,500,000 for the purpose of purchasing materials and resources for libraries within Bernalillo County, New Mexico, said bonds to be payable from general (ad valorem) taxes, and to be issued and sold at such time or times and upon such terms and conditions as the Board of County Commissioners may determine and as permitted by law?”

Recommendation: Yes

Reasoning: This bond measure is needed to acquire funding for improving public libraries in Bernalillo County, a public good. The funds acquired through general obligation bonds go towards buying physical books and access to book applications such as Libby.