ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The November election is only three weeks away, and more than 105,000 New Mexicans have already cast their ballots. That’s according to the latest numbers from the Secretary of State’s office.

Many New Mexicans are still deciding which candidates they want to vote for and what to think about some extra questions on their ballots. We’re talking about constitutional amendments — city charter updates — and other pressing matters New Mexico voters need to decide on.

There are a lot of things New Mexican voters need to decide on this year. A sample ballot for Bernalillo County voters shows more than half of the questions have nothing to do with politicians. That includes some changes to Albuquerque city charter, that’s basically the city’s Constitution.

Earlier this year, city councilors and Mayor Tim Keller’s office clashed over a few city charter proposals, and two of them made it to the ballot.

The first would give Albuquerque city councilors more power in the hiring and firing process of the city’s administrative leaders, the fire chief and police chief. Right now, only the mayor makes those decisions.

City Council President Dan Lewis started fighting for this change earlier this year.

“They work for us, they work for the entire city, not just the mayor. And so this gives a legitimate role to the city council that’s closer to the people of the City of Albuquerque, to have a legitimate role in bringing about some of these key executive leaders in our city,” said Lewis back in May.

The second city charter question on this year’s ballot has to do with the official process to resolve differences between the mayor and city councilors. It essentially puts a time limit on the process, ideally preventing either side from delaying the process.

KOB 4 asked Keller’s office where they stand on these questions, and the mayor said: 

“After initial serious concerns about the measures, we worked with council to put these revised proposals on the ballot.  The proposal about ‘separation of power disputes’ is now workable albeit not really necessary; and the proposal to change the way we hire and fire public safety chiefs gives reasonable checks to both the mayor and council.”  

It seems both sides are supporting these changes. Now, it’s up to the voters, and so is the fate of the UNM hospital’s budget. 

Bernalillo County voters will be asked to reauthorize a mill levy that funds roughly 10% of the hospital’s operating costs. A mill levy is basically a small portion of the county’s property tax revenue given to the hospital.

This is not a tax increase. In fact, it’s already been in place since the 1950s, and hospital leaders are hoping voters decide to keep it that way.

“We have three missions to meet. We’re the safety net for Bernalillo County. We’re the IHS hospital for the Albuquerque area, and we are the academic medical center that trains our future workforce. And so it’s really important that we maintain those services and fill that need in our community,” said Kate Becker, CEO of UNM hospital. 

There’s also some proposed changed to our state’s constitution all New Mexico voters need to know about. Two of them have to do with property tax exemptions for military members.

State lawmakers approved changes expanding those exemptions for veterans and honorably discharged service members.

New Mexicans will also have to decide if county commissioners — in all 33 counties — should be allowed to set the salaries for themselves and other county officials. Right now, state lawmakers set those levels.

Voters will also have to decide on a proposed change to the commission in charge of finding new state Supreme Court justices.

To see the sample ballot, click here.