HOUSE EXECUTIVE MESSAGE NO. 4
The Honorable Ben Lujan and
Members of the House of Representatives
Honorable Speaker and Members of the House:
I have this day VETOED and am returning HOUSE VOTERS AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL 10, enacted by the Forty-Fifth Legislature, First Special Session, 2001.
As I have repeatedly stated throughout this
redistricting process, the citizens of
This plan was designed to create at least seven safe
Democrat seats. I understand that there
were other Board of Education plans presented to the interim committee and to
the Legislature that provided for more political competition. As with the other redistricting plans I have
vetoed, this partisan power grabbing will not be permitted to override concern
for the voters of this state.
Moreover, this plan fails to address Native American
concerns. Specifically, this plan
creates only one Native American district, District 5, containing a population
of 52.28 percent voting-age Native Americans. As with other plans, Native Americans have
little chance of electing a representative of their choice unless a district
contains at least 65 percent Native American voting-age population.
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HOUSE VOTERS AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL 10
Once again, I am forced to veto a redistricting bill
that places politics before people, that hinders real choice at the voting
booth, and that evidences a wasted special session and hundreds of thousands of
dollars in taxpayers’ money.
Sincerely,
Gary E. Johnson
Governor
RECEIVED FROM THE OFFICE OF THE
GOVERNOR:
Time: _____________________ By:_____________________________
Secretary of State
Date ______________________
Time:______________________
Date_______________________ By:_____________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
hem4hb10