New Mexico Background Checks for Firearm Sales Referendum (2020)
| New Mexico Background Checks for Firearm Sales Referendum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Firearms | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Referendum | Origin Citizens |
The New Mexico Background Checks for Firearm Sales Referendum was not on the ballot in New Mexico as a veto referendum on November 3, 2020.
Proponents of the veto referendum sought to repeal Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), signed into law on March 8, 2019. SB 8 was designed to require background checks for firearm sales between unlicensed persons. Under SB 8, sales between unlicensed persons need to go through a person with a license to perform a background check, and the person could charge up to $35.00 to perform the background check.[1]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of Senate Bill 8 (SB 8) is available here.
Path to the ballot
Process in New Mexico
In New Mexico, the number of signatures required to qualify a veto referendum for the ballot without suspending the targeted legislation until the election is equal to 10 percent of votes cast in the previous general election. To put the legislation before voters and suspend the targeted law from going into effect until voters decide its fate at the election, valid signatures equal to 25 percent of the votes cast in the previous election are required. Signature gathering must be distributed to include valid signatures equal to at least 10 percent of the votes cast at the last general election in three-fourths (25) of the state's 33 counties. Signatures must be submitted at least four months prior to the election.
The requirements to get a veto referendum certified for the 2020 ballot:
- Signatures (without suspending the law): 70,165 valid signatures were required to put legislation before voters without suspending it until the election.
- Signatures (with suspending the law): 175,413 valid signatures were required to put legislation before voters and suspend the legislation from going into effect.
- Deadline: Signatures were due 90 days after the adjournment of the legislative session in which the targeted law was approved, with a latest possible deadline of July 2, 2020, for the election on November 3, 2020.
The New Mexico secretary of state must verify the sufficiency or insufficiency of any submitted referendum petition within 30 days of the petition being submitted.
Stages of this initiative
On March 7, 2019, House Minority Leader James Townsend (R-54) and House Minority Whip Rod Montoya (R-1) informed Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D) of their intent to file a referendum petition to repeal Senate Bill 8 (SB 8). On March 11, a draft referendum was received from Rep. Townsend.[2]
On March 21, Secretary of State Oliver denied the petition, saying there were legal deficiencies. She said that courts have ruled that laws "providing for the preservation of the public peace, health or safety" were exempt from veto referendums, per Section 1 of Article IV of the New Mexico Constitution. Oliver stated, "The legislature enacted the background check law with the purpose of increasing public peace, health, and safety and thus the law is not subject to referendum."[2]
On April 1, Rep. Townsend sent a letter to Secretary of State Oliver, which said, "Neither the secretary of state nor the attorney general has the authority to unilaterally determine if a given piece of legislation meets the public peace, health and safety standard described by the New Mexico Constitution." He added, "New Mexicans are constitutionally permitted to decide by referendum their choice on this consequential legislation."[3] Rep. Townsend also refiled the referendum petition.[4]
Secretary of State Oliver rejected the second petition on April 11, 2019, saying, "In all of these cases, the question of whether a law was not subject to referendum … only came before [a] court following the Secretary of State appropriately fulfilling a legally mandated duty to review the petition and make a determination based on the strict legal requirements for referendum petitions."[5] Rep. Townsend responded, "The people of New Mexico want their voices heard, and the secretary of state continues to ignore them. The secretary of state is supposed to encourage voter participation, not suppress it."[6] Townsend filed a third draft, which was also rejected on April 22, 2019.[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ New Mexico State Legislature, "Senate Bill 8," accessed April 4, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 New Mexico Secretary of State, "Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver Determines Petition to Overturn Background Check Law Does Not Meet Strict Legal Requirements," March 21, 2019
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Critics of New Mexico gun law renew call for referendum," April 3, 2019
- ↑ The Los Alamos Monitor, "Republicans resubmit petition to repeal gun control law," April 3, 2019
- ↑ Santa Fe New Mexican, "Toulouse Oliver again shoots down gun law referendum petition," April 11, 2019
- ↑ U.S. News, "Election Official Rejects Push to Get Gun Control on Ballot," April 12, 2019
- ↑ Roswell Daily Record, "Referendum on new gun law blocked again," April 22, 2019
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