Rio Rancho Redistricting Meeting

The Rio Rancho Governing Body (Mayor and City Council) will review and discuss City Council redistricting plan options at a public work session taking place on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. at Rio Rancho City Hall (3200 Civic Center Circle). The work session can be viewed online via the City’s website, rrnm.gov.

 At the work session, City contractor Research & Polling, Inc. will present five redistricting proposals they have developed for Governing Body consideration. Each redistricting plan adheres to all federal, state, and local government requirements related to redistricting. No action or public comment is taken at a work session.

The public can review the five proposed redistricting plans on the City’s website at www.rrnm.gov/redistricting. The public can submit any comments they have regarding the redistricting proposals using the following e-mail address, clerk@rrnm.gov. The public is encouraged to submit their comments prior to Oct. 28.  All comments will be submitted to the Governing Body for consideration.

At the Governing Body’s regular public meeting taking place on Oct. 28 at 6 p.m., the first of two votes required to adopt a City Council redistricting plan will take place. At this meeting, public comment will be taken. A second and final vote to implement a redistricting plan is currently anticipated to take place at the Governing Body’s Nov. 10 regular public meeting, where public comment will be taken.

With the recent release of 2020 Census Data by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Governing Body is required by law to prepare and adopt a redistricting plan ordinance following all applicable laws that divides the City into six (6) geographic election districts for the purpose of electing City Council members.

The new election districts must be in place and utilized at the first regular municipal election following the release of the census results. The City of Rio Rancho’s next regular municipal officer election will take place on March 1, 2022. In addition, the Governing Body is required to notify the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office of its newly adopted election districts prior to Dec. 1, 2021, for inclusion in the proclamation calling for the election. The proclamation lists the elective offices to be filled at the March 1, 2022, municipal officer election, and provides the date on which declarations of candidacy must be filled. City Council candidates for the Rio Rancho municipal election must be registered to vote within the district they are seeking office on or before Dec. 1, 2021, which is the date the proclamation is issued.

Any redistricting plan adopted by the Governing Body must, pursuant to federal, state, and local government laws, adhere to the following criteria:

• Conform with the Federal Voting Rights Act and with the principle of “one person – one vote”;
• Must have substantially equal population (+/- five (5) percent);
• Consist of contiguous territory which shall be compact and convenient;
• Preserve communities of interest, including those based on economic, geographic, or ethnic characteristics within a single district, to the extent reasonable and practical; and
• Must be divided into six (6) single City Council Districts.

At the March 1, 2022, Rio Rancho municipal officer election, the following positions will be on the ballot:

• City Councilor District 2: 4-year term
• City Councilor District 3: 4-year term
• City Councilor District 5: 4-year term
• Mayor (At-Large): 4-year term
• Municipal Judge (At-Large): 4-year term