Thread by @toddhathorne

@BrianEgolf Here is the brief filed by LCS. IV.The Council's Response to the Court's Order

A.Effecting Necessary Rule and Statutory Changes to Allow for Remote Voting Would Require Overcoming Several Legal and Practical Problems

Any legislative effort to accommodate the

relief requested in the petition, i.e., amending the statute to substitute and allow for voting by mail, must satisfy the constitutional requirement that legislators be "present" for the passage of bills and also must be preceded by a change in the House and Senate rules to allow

for remote deliberation and voting. Although Article IV, Section 17 of the New Mexico Constitution provides that: "[n]o bill shall be passed except by a vote of the majority of the members present in each house . . . . ," it is premature to opine whether the Court could — or

should — determine whether substantial compliance with that particular constitutional directive might be achieved by remote legislative voting. The constitutional issue may be deferred because of the many initial hurdles the Legislature will encounter in altering the rules of

both chambers, which currently require the physical presence of legislators to vote on and pass any bill, resolution, or rule changes.2 See e.g., Allen v. LeMaster, 2012-NMSC-001, ¶ 28, citing Schlieter

2 It is within the special prerogative of the Legislature to address the

electoral process and the intricate policy choices involving voting. See N.M. Const. art VII, § 1 ("the legislature shall enact such laws as will secure . . . the purity of elections . . ."). To act on these matters in a special session, the Governor must first issue a

proclamation for such a session, which lists the "objects specified in the proclamation" upon which the Legislature can act. N.M. Const. art IV, § 6.

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