Constitutional Amendment 3: Boards of Regents Nominating Committees and Student Regents
Statewide — all of New Mexico
General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Referred to voters by the New Mexico Legislature as a proposed constitutional amendment; the Secretary of State lists it among four amendments on the November 3, 2026 ballot. A majority of the votes cast on the question is needed to adopt it.[1][3]
The question on the ballot
Proposing an amendment to Article 12, Section 13 of the Constitution of New Mexico to establish nominating committees to provide lists of nominees to the governor for appointment of nonstudent members to the boards of regents of state educational institutions; providing that student members of boards of regents shall be appointed from a list provided by an elected student governing body of the institution; providing that, except for a student member, members of the boards of regents shall not have changed their political party registration in the twelve months preceding appointment.[2][1]
Requires the legislature to create a nominating committee for each of the state educational institutions; the governor would appoint nonstudent regents (with Senate consent) only from the committee's list of nominees. Student regents would be appointed from a list provided by an elected student governing body rather than by the institution's president. Nonstudent regents could not have changed party registration in the twelve months before appointment (per the ballot title; the resolution text reproduced in the guide says six months). No more than 50 percent of a nominating committee could belong to the same party. Currently the governor appoints regents with Senate consent, subject to residency and party-balance limits.[1]
A YES vote means
Establishes nominating committees whose lists limit the governor's choices for nonstudent regents, changes how student regents are listed, and bars recent party-registration changes for nonstudent regents.
A NO vote means
Keeps the current regent appointment process, in which the governor appoints with Senate consent and student regents come from a list provided by the institution's president.
The law today
Regents are appointed by the governor with Senate consent. Nonstudent regents must be qualified electors and no more than three of five (or four of seven) on a board may be registered with the same party; student regents are appointed from a list provided by the institution's president.[4]
Official fiscal estimate
The Legislative Finance Committee's January 2026 fiscal impact report estimated a nonrecurring Secretary of State cost of $35,000 to $50,000 in FY27 (printing and publishing the amendment).[6]
Arguments made for
- Argument in support suggested by Legislative Council Service staff (the publication says its arguments "represent suggestions from the Legislative Council Service staff" and "do not necessarily reflect legislative deliberations"): "Governance of the state educational institutions is an important and challenging task that requires specialized knowledge in multiple fields."[1][4]
- Argument in support suggested by Legislative Council Service staff (the publication says its arguments "represent suggestions from the Legislative Council Service staff" and "do not necessarily reflect legislative deliberations"): "Regent nominating committees may limit or remove the influence of politics from the appointment process."[1][4]
Arguments made against
- Argument in opposition suggested by Legislative Council Service staff (the publication says its arguments "represent suggestions from the Legislative Council Service staff" and "do not necessarily reflect legislative deliberations"): "The amendment would alter the checks and balances between the legislature and the executive regarding the appointment of state officers."[1][4]
- Argument in opposition suggested by Legislative Council Service staff (the publication says its arguments "represent suggestions from the Legislative Council Service staff" and "do not necessarily reflect legislative deliberations"): "The amendment may dilute the governor's or the Senate's accountability in appointing regents."[1][4]
On record in support
- Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces), co-sponsor of the resolution, told Source NM: “It’s been abused and we’ve had too many appointments that had no higher education experience and nothing to offer our state.”[5]
On record in opposition
- None found in public sources.
Research notes & limits
Source: the New Mexico Secretary of State's 2026 Voter Guide and its published ballot question text. The guide reproduces purpose statements and arguments for and against prepared by the legislature (it links nmlegis.gov's Constitutional Amendments 2026 publication) and states that this analysis does not necessarily reflect the Secretary of State's views; arguments are the guide's unattributed summaries, not statements by named campaigns. The Secretary of State says only the title (in capital letters on the joint resolution) appears on the ballot. Required vote: a simple majority. Legislative vote tallies were not retrieved. The ballot title says twelve months for the party-registration restriction while the joint resolution text reproduced in the guide says six months; the question text here is the ballot title. Ballotpedia's description of this measure differs in wording (it also mentions removal procedures). The Santa Fe County Clerk's 2026 ballot-question list (not cited) also says twelve months. The arguments are suggestions written by Legislative Council Service staff (the publication's disclaimer says they do not necessarily reflect legislative deliberations and that the number of arguments does not indicate weight), not statements by a named campaign; no registered campaign committees or named opponents were found. Fiscal figures are from Legislative Finance Committee fiscal impact reports on the resolutions.
Sources · 6
Researched 2026-10-19. Green citations are official government records.
- 1.2026 General Election Voter Guide: Constitutional Amendments and General Obligation Bonds · New Mexico Secretary of State · 2026-09 Official record
- 2.2026 General Election: Statewide Constitutional Amendments and General Obligation Bonds (ballot question text) · New Mexico Secretary of State · 2026-09 Official record
- 3.New Mexico 2026 ballot measures · Ballotpedia · 2026-10-18 Reference
- 4.Constitutional Amendments 2026 (summaries and arguments for and against) · New Mexico Legislative Council Service · 2026 Official record
- 5.New Mexico Election 2026: Constitutional Amendments 1-3 · Source NM · 2026-09-17 News report
- 6.Fiscal impact report, House Joint Resolution 1 (Boards of Regents Nominating Committees, CA) · New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee · 2026-01-26 Official record