Lujan Grisham signs voting rights bill into law

Calling it a template for other states in the nation, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a sweeping voting protections bill into law Thursday.

The legislation, known as House Bill 4, restores the voting rights of convicted felons the day they get out of prison and institutes an automatic voter registration system through the Motor Vehicle Division. It also creates a permanent absentee voter list and makes Election Day a state holiday.

The measure, crafted by a coalition of advocacy organizations and tribes, enacts the Native American Voting Rights Act, which supporters said is the most significant Native American voting rights legislation in the country. The new law, for example, allows voters living on tribal land to designate a tribal government building as their mailing address.