Quote:SANTA FE — New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver announced today she plans to bring back straight party voting for the Nov. 6 general election, a decision that’s expected to be challenged in court by the state Republican Party.

Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, informed county clerks about the move this morning and said in a statement it was intended to give more options to New Mexico voters.

“As secretary of state, I am committed to making it easier — not harder — for New Mexicans to vote,” Toulouse Oliver said. “From moms juggling work and kids to elderly veterans who find it hard to stand for long, straight-party voting provides an option for voters that allows their voices to be heard while cutting in half the time it takes them to cast their ballot.”

But state Republican Party chairman Ryan Cangiolosi blasted the move as politically-driven, claiming it could bolster Toulouse Oliver’s own re-election bid.

“Straight ticket voting is an attempt to rig the system in favor of Democrats and turn New Mexico into a one-party state,” said Cangiolosi, who added the state GOP would be filing a lawsuit in an attempt to prevent the implementation of straight ticket voting.

New Mexico Libertarian Party chairman Chris Luchini also said his party was considering filing a lawsuit, describing the reinstatement of straight ticket voting as “naked partisanship.”

Former Secretary of State Dianna Duran, a Republican, eliminated straight party voting in 2012, saying the state election code did not specifically allow the practice. Several bills were subsequently proposed in the Legislature to authorize it, but none was ultimately enacted.

Toulouse Oliver, who was elected in 2016 and is running for a new four-year term this year, had vowed on the campaign trail to bring back the straight-ticket voting option, which had previously been utilized in New Mexico since at least the 1960s.