New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson yesterday announced the formation of a task force that will recommend ways to improve the state's elections process. Richardson said New Mexico's election system is prone to human error and delays in ballot-counting and that he and the secretary of state are appointing a bipartisan elections task force to review election laws and procedures and recommend changes to pursue during the next legislative session in January.
Richardson said in a release, "I'd like the task force, which I will co-chair along with the secretary of state, to focus on two areas:
- One, ensuring accurate results in a timely manner
- Second, providing more efficient reporting of campaign finance information."
Richardson said it is not a partisan issue, and both Democrats and Republicans were asked to serve on the task force. "We have important elections coming up next year," said Richardson. "We need to move quickly to make necessary changes before the June 2004 primary."
Richardson said that legislation passed this year requiring candidates to file reports electronically was a good start, but more was needed. "The public deserves to know -- in an efficient manner -- who is contributing to campaigns, and how campaigns are spending that money."
