近距离内射合集

When New Mexico voters head to the polls this November, they鈥檒l be asked not only to cast ballots for candidates but also to decide on seven statewide , including constitutional amendments and bond measures.

Among other things, the questions ask voters to approve the state issuing up to $230 million in bonds to pay for improvements at universities, colleges, special schools and tribal schools. Voters also will be asked whether lawmakers should be paid a salary, and whether the governor can let a bill die by not signing it without explaining why.

But tens of thousands of New Mexico voters routinely important constitutional amendments and bond questions even after voting in the races at the top of the ballot.

Why voters leave ballot questions blank isn鈥檛 always clear. have found that lengthy ballots, ballot position and the wording of ballot measures can all influence whether voters complete the entire ballot. In New Mexico, where measured by federal assessments, voter education groups say explaining ballot measures remains an important part of helping voters participate in the process.

The literacy gap

Adult literacy is measured by a test called the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competency, or PIAAC, with level one being the lowest literacy, followed by levels two and three.

According to Amber Gallup, adult education director for the New Mexico Higher Education Department, more than 29% of New Mexico adults ages 16 to 64 score at or below Level 1, the lowest literacy category.

鈥淧eople who are below Level 1 may only be able to understand some very basic vocabulary in a written text. And some adults below level one might struggle to do even this. To read anything, and may be considered functionally illiterate or very low reading proficiency,鈥� Gallup said. 

Low literacy levels decrease access to steady jobs, healthcare and ultimately civic participation, Gallup said, noting that literacy has long been tied to voting access. 

鈥淔or example, during the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, African American educators and activists organized literacy schools with the goals of enabling their community members to understand ballots and pass poll tests,鈥� Gallup said. 鈥淎nd these schools, these literacy schools, had a tremendous role in the success of the civil rights movement over time through the increased voting power of the African American communities, particularly in the South. So, thinking about that, we know that nationally, now, fast forward to today, 21 states have enacted laws regarding the readability of ballot measures.鈥� 

Decades after literacy schools helped expand access to the ballot, literacy remains a struggle when voting for ballot questions that often have dense, legalistic wording.  

According to research by political scientists Shauna Reilly and Sean Richey, cited on, New Mexico鈥檚 ballot measures scored the highest in the nation 鈥� 28 鈥� in a study of 1,211 ballot measures from 1997 to 2007. The higher the score, the harder the text is to read, and a score of 28 corresponds to a graduate-level reading ability to understand on a first read. 

Under state law, the language that New Mexico voters see is the title of the actual legislation passed by lawmakers, posed on the ballot as a yes-or-no question. In Ballotpedia鈥檚 own tracking of ballot measures since 2017, New Mexico鈥檚 ballot titles have still consistently ranked among the hardest to read.

Today, advocates and researchers point to ballot readability as one factor that may contribute to voter drop-off. In the general election, 903,311 New Mexicans voted in the U.S. Senate race. On the same ballot, eight ballot questions were presented to the public. The measure with the greatest voter drop-off received 111,795 fewer voters than the Senate race. Even the ballot question with the highest participation 鈥� Constitutional Amendment 2, which received 851,376 votes 鈥� received 51,935 fewer votes than were cast for the Senate race. 

Writing the ballot questions

This fall鈥檚 ballot will ask voters to decide questions involving constitutional amendments, general obligation bonds, levies and public expenditures. The measures contain terms such as 鈥渋mposition,鈥� 鈥渙bligation,鈥� and 鈥渋ndebtedness鈥� 鈥� language familiar to lawyers, legislators and policy specialists, but less common in everyday conversation. 

The Legislative Council Service is the Legislature鈥檚 nonpartisan staff that writes bills and resolutions at the direction of lawmakers, who may then amend the measures as they make their way through the legislative process. 

Ra煤l Burciaga, the former director of the service who continues to consult with the Legislature, said the language used in bills is driven by legal precision rather than a desire to make measures difficult to understand. 

鈥淭he LCS drafting manual has drafting guidelines that include recommendations, guidelines and suggestions on making sure that what is being written, whether it鈥檚 a constitutional amendment or a bill, is clear to whoever needs to abide by it or whoever has to enforce it,鈥� Burciaga said. 

As someone who worked directly with bill drafters, Burciaga said staff is trained to avoid legalistic language. However, when tackling highly complex topics, Burciaga said the language must follow accordingly. That can leave everyday New Mexicans working significantly harder to understand what鈥檚 being said. 

The grassroots translations

Several New Mexico organizations try to make ballot questions more accessible to voters.

The League of Women Voters of New Mexico publishes voter guides that explain ballot measures in plain language. Dick Mason, a league member and advocate for the organization, said the guides are intended to supplement the official descriptions provided by state agencies.

鈥淧eople don鈥檛 always understand the language used in constitutional amendments and ballot questions,鈥� Mason said. 

The league assesses language provided by the Secretary of State鈥檚 Office and the Legislative Council Service for each ballot question, Mason said. 鈥淚f we think we can improve on it, which we usually can, we do. And that鈥檚 what we put in our voters鈥� guide.鈥�

Language can present additional challenges for some Spanish-speaking voters. While the state translates ballot measures into Spanish, the hurdle remains the same. Organizers in the Land of Enchantment, better known as OL脡, help to prepare Spanish-speaking voters for the polls. Bertha Acosta, OL脡鈥檚 citizenship organizer, said a few of these voters have reported difficulty finding Spanish-speaking poll workers to help them, especially when registering to vote.  

鈥淭here was only, like, two people that spoke Spanish in the voting centers that were able to help them out from the very beginning, like registering to vote, because some of them are, you know, same-day voter registration,鈥� Acosta said. 鈥淎nd so, there was just a little bit of a language barrier with the verbal communication with the poll workers.鈥�

Lindsey Bachman, director of communications for the Secretary of State鈥檚 Office, said the  law requires county clerks to provide language  assistance in areas with a majority of voters 鈥渨ho are part of a recognized language minority.鈥� Under New Mexico and federal law, those recognized groups are American Indian and Spanish-language speakers. 

Outside those areas, voters can still ask for help at their polling place 鈥� the law gives them that right 鈥� but it鈥檚 on them to arrange it, not the county clerk. As Bachman put it, that assistance can come from 鈥渁 person of the voter鈥檚 own choice,鈥� with a few exceptions: it can鈥檛 be the voter鈥檚 employer, someone from their union or a candidate on that year鈥檚 ballot.