Past Results

2022 GO Bond Results

Library Bond Measures Successful throughout New Mexico in 2022 Election

By Joe Sabatini

Library bond issues were successful statewide in the 2022 New Mexico General Election. State General Obligation Bond 2, providing $19,266,000 for public, academic, public school and tribal libraries passed by a margin of 161,818 votes. With 401,235 yes votes and 238,410 no votes, Bond 2 won with 62.69% in favor, 3.6 percentage points lower than attained by library bond issue B in 2020. Mora, Harding and Grants were the only Counties which had a higher approval rate this year compared to 2020. The largest declines in support were in Lea, Curry, Chaves, Roosevelt, Eddy, Otero and Valencia Counties. Seven counties, Catron, Chavez, Curry, DeBaca, Lea, Quay and Union, rejected the measure. Taos was once again the banner county for support at 77.6% yes, followed by Santa Fe at 74.4% and McKinley at 74.3%.

Bond 2 showed the second highest level of support among the three state bond issues; the $24.47 million senior citizen facilities Bond 1 received 66.3% approval. Bond 3 provided $215.99 million for higher education, special schools and tribal schools, and received a 61.3% yes vote. These are unofficial complete totals, which will be updated when the State Canvassing Board meets later this month.

In Bernalillo County, library bonds providing $1.5 million to the Public Library Albuquerque and Bernalillo County passed by a vote of 150,329 yes to 69,236 no, a 68.5% margin. This margin is 2% less than the 2021 City of Albuquerque library bond margin of 70.6% and below the 69.2% margin for the 2020 County library bond. Voters in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County have now passed sixty-seven consecutive library funding questions dating back to 1892, with an average margin of 69.0% favorable, and totaling $159.7 million in funding. The Bernalillo County library bond was sixth in voter support among the seven bond issues proposed to county voters in 2022. Funds will go for materials and resources

In Sandoval County, voters passed Bond Question 1 providing $1,885,000 to 15 public and tribal libraries by a vote of 37,505 in favor and 18,910 against, for an approval rate of 66.5%. The margin of victory increased by 2.5% from the 2020 Sandoval County Library Bond Issue, which had passed by a 62% margin. These funds can be used for “planning, designing, upgrading, constructing, remodeling, furnishing, equipping, repairing and otherwise improving library facilities…and purchasing books and other library resources….”

In Doña Ana County, the City of Sunland Park passed a $4 million bond issue for a recreation center and library. The vote was 1,050 in favor and 439 against, a 71% victory margin.

The library community was mobilized to support Bond 2 through the activities of the Bonds for Libraries Special Interest Group (SIG). Under the chairmanship of Omar Durant and with the assistance of NMLA webmaster Robyn Gleasner, the SIG promoted the legislation and prepared campaign materials. We mailed a letter to every academic, public and tribal library director and every high school librarian about the bond campaign and promoting NMLA membership. The SIG website provided local library supporters with a variety of media to promote passage of Bond 2. A display ad was also placed on the state’s leading political blog, “New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan.” Bond 2 was endorsed by the Albuquerque Journal and other newspapers around the state. We were interviewed for news stories on Albuquerque TV station KRQE and Public Radio station KUNM-FM.

2022 Voting by County

2020 GO Bond Results

2020 Voters Pass Bond B, Bernalillo and Sandoval County Library Bonds by Large Margins

By Joe Sabatini

Library bond issues were successful statewide in the 2020 New Mexico General Election. State General Obligation Bond B, providing $9,751,433 million for public, academic, public school and tribal libraries passed by a margin of 259,358 votes. With 530,895 yes votes and 271,537 no votes, Bond B won with 66.16% in favor, 2.6 percentage points lower than attained by library bond issue B in 2018. Four counties had higher approval rates this year compared to 2018; McKinley, Sandoval, Luna and Curry. The largest declines in support were in Quay, Lea, Eddy, De Baca, Catron, Roosevelt and Harding Counties. Only two counties, Catron and Union, rejected the measure. Taos was the banner county for support at 77.4% yes, followed by Santa Fe at 76.2% and McKinley at 76%.

Bond B showed the second highest level of support among the three state bond issues; the $10.77 million senior citizen facilities Bond A received 68% approval. Bond C provided $156,358,475 million for higher education, special schools and tribal schools, and received a 64.8% yes vote. These are unofficial complete totals, which will be updated when the State Canvassing Board meets later this month.

In Bernalillo County, library bonds providing $2.25 million to The Public Library Albuquerque and Bernalillo County passed by a vote of 195,022 yes to 81,233 no, a 70.6% margin. This margin is 1% less than the 2019 City of Albuquerque library bond margin of 71.6% and below the 74.1% margin for the 2018 County library bond. Voters in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County have now passed sixty-four consecutive library funding questions dating back to 1892, with an average margin of 69.0% favorable, and totaling $152.3 million in funding. The Bernalillo County library bond was lowest in voter support among the seven bond issues proposed to county voters in 2020. Funds will go for books and media, and to complete the construction and furniture needed for the new International District Library.

In Sandoval County, voters passed Bond Question 1 providing $1,975,000 to 15 public and tribal libraries by a vote of 43,114 in favor and 26,541 against, for an approval rate of 61.9 %. The margin of victory decreased by 4% from the 2018 Sandoval County Library Bond Issue, which had passed by a 65.9% margin.

The library community was mobilized to support Bond B through the activities of the Bonds for Libraries Special Interest Group (SIG). Under the chairmanship of Omar Durant and with the assistance of NMLA webmaster Robyn Gleasner, the SIG promoted the legislation and prepared campaign materials. The SIG website provided local library supporters with a variety of media to promote passage of Bond B. A display ad was also placed on the state’s leading political blog, “New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan.” Bond B was endorsed by the Albuquerque Journal and other newspapers around the state.

We also had help from the 2020 GO Bond for Higher Education Campaign, which included information about Bond B as they promoted Bond C. They mentioned bond B in a PBS "Report from Santa Fe" and promoted it on KENW's local "You should Know" half hour show. They also did a script for the local (Roosevelt County) presentations and encouraged all bond C committee members and representatives to do the same.

2018 GO Bond Results

Voters Pass Bond B, Bernalillo and Sandoval County Library Bonds by Large Margins

By Joe Sabatini

Library bond issues were successful statewide in the 2018 New Mexico General Election. State General Obligation Bond B, providing $12.876 million for public, academic, public school and tribal libraries passed by an unofficial margin of 231,310 votes. With 424,619 yes votes and 193,309 no votes, Bond B won with 68.72% in favor, 3.9 percentage points higher than attained by library bond issue B in 2016. This progress was accomplished through higher margins in all but nine counties, with the greatest margin gains in Grant, Santa Fe, Mora, Harding, Quay and Bernalillo Counties. Only two counties, Catron and Union, rejected the measure. Taos County was once again the banner county for support at 81% yes, followed by Santa Fe at 77.3% and McKinley at 73.4%.

Bond B showed the second highest level of support among the four state bond issues; the $10.77 million senior citizen facilities Bond A received 70.8%, with library bond (B) at 68.7%. A new category on the ballot is Bond C, providing $6 million for school busses, which received a 68.8% yes vote. Bond D, providing $136 million for higher education facilities, passed with a 65.7% yes vote. These are unofficial complete totals, which will be updated when the State Canvassing Board meets later this month.

In Bernalillo County, library bonds providing $1.75 million to the Public Library Albuquerque and Bernalillo County passed by a vote of 160,977 yes to 56,294 no, a 74.1% margin. This margin is more than the 2017 City of Albuquerque library bond margin of 71.7% and slightly below the 74.4% margin for the 2016 County library bond. Voters in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County have now passed sixty-two consecutive library funding questions dating back to 1892, with an average margin of 69.0% favorable, and totaling $140.4 million in funding. The drop-off in support in Bernalillo County between the County Library Bond and State Bond B is 1.8%. The Bernalillo County library bond was fourth highest in voter support among the six bond issues proposed to county voters in 2018.

In Sandoval County, voters passed Bond Question 1 providing $3,385,000 to 15 public and tribal libraries by a vote of 35,220 in favor and 18,305 against, for an approval rate of 65.8%. The margin of victory increased by 6.3% over the 2014 Sandoval County Library Bond Issue, which had passed by a 59.5% margin. The county library bond also ranked highest for Sandoval County among the three county bond issues proposed in 2018.

The library community was mobilized to support Bond B through the activities of the Bonds for Libraries Special Interest Group (SIG). Under the chairmanship of Omar Durant, the SIG promoted the legislation, raised funds, prepared campaign materials and placed advertising. The SIG website provided local library supporters with a variety of media to promote passage of Bond B. Linda O’Connell worked with Robyn Gleasner to replace the SIG website on a new platform; nmbondsforlibraires.org. Chris Schipper and the New Mexico Library Foundation created a webpage charting prospective bond allocations for every library by county. A display ad was also placed on the state’s leading political blog, “New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan.” Bond B was endorsed by the Albuquerque Journal and other newspapers around the state. The financial support of the Albuquerque Friends for the Library was especially appreciated.

2016 GO Bond Results

In 2016 Voters Passed Bond B and the Bernalillo County Library Bond by Large Margins

By Joe Sabatini

Library bond issues were successful statewide in the 2016 New Mexico General Election. State General Obligation Bond B, providing $10 million for public, academic, public school and tribal libraries passed by an unofficial margin of 202,593 votes. With 445,042 yes votes and 242,449 no votes, Bond B won with 64.7% in favor, 1.8 percentage points higher than attained by library bond issue B in 2014. This progress was accomplished through higher margins in all but seven counties, with the greatest margin gains in Chaves, Curry, Dona Ana, Lea, Luna and Quay Counties. Only two counties, Catron and Union, rejected the measure. Taos County was once again the banner county for support at 76.8% yes, followed by McKinley at 73.0% and Guadalupe at 69.7%.

Bond B showed the third-highest level of support among the four state bond issues; the $15 million senior citizen facilities bond (A) received 68.5%, with library bond (B) at 64.7%. Bond C, providing $142 million for higher education facilities, passed with a 63.3% yes vote. A new category on the ballot is Bond D, providing $18 million for public safety, received a 66.1% yes vote. These are unofficial complete totals, which will be updated when the State Canvassing Board meets later this month.

In Bernalillo County, library bonds providing $1.8 million to the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library System passed by a vote of 191,469 yes to 65,799 no, a 74.4% margin. This margin is less than the 2015 City of Albuquerque library bond margin of 77% and slightly above the 74.0% margin for the 2014 County library bond. Voters in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County have now passed fifty-seven consecutive library funding questions dating back to 1892, with an average margin of 68.8% favorable, and totaling $131 million in funding. The drop-off in support in Bernalillo County between the County Library Bond and State Bond B is 7.6%. The Bernalillo County library bond tied for third highest in voter support among the six bond issues proposed to county voters in 2016.

The library community was mobilized to support Bond B through the activities of the Bonds for Libraries Special Interest Group (SIG). Under the chairmanship of Omar Durant, the SIG promote the legislation, raised funds, prepared and distributed campaign materials and placed advertising. The SIG used a variety of media to promote passage of Bond B to both library allies and voters who may not use libraries. The SIG website, bondsforlibraires.org, provided promotional tools and campaign information. Olivia Baca updated the website. Kits were sent to academic, public and tribal libraries, containing bookmarks, window clings, posters and brochures. A display ad was also placed on the state’s leading political blog, “New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan.”. Bond B was endorsed by the Albuquerque Journal and other newspapers around the state. We especially appreciate the support of the Friends for the Library of The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library.

2014 GO Bond Results

Voters Support Bond B and other Library Bonds by Large Margins

By Joe Sabatini and Olivia Baca

Library bond issues were successful statewide in the 2014 New Mexico General Election. State General Obligation Bond B, providing $10.8 million for public, academic, public school and tribal libraries passed by an unofficial margin of 115,211 votes. With 280,177 yes votes and 164,966 no votes, Bond B won with 62.9% in favor, 0.9 percentage points higher than attained by library bond issue B in 2012. This progress was accomplished through higher margins in all but ten counties, with the greatest margin gains in Lincoln, Taos, Santa Fe, Mora, Valencia and Los Alamos Counties. Only two counties, Catron and Union, rejected the measure. Taos was once again the banner county for support at 77.2% yes, followed by Santa Fe County at 70.8% and McKinley County at 69.8%

Bond B showed the second-highest level of support among the three state bond issues; the $17 million senior citizen facilities bond (A) received 64.9%, with library bond (B) at 62.9%. Bond C, providing $141 million for higher education facilities, passed with a 59.8% yes vote. These are unofficial totals, which will be updated when the State Canvassing Board meets later this month.

In Bernalillo County, library bonds providing $1.8 million to the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library System passed by a vote of 114,683 yes to 40,313 no, a 74% margin. This margin exceeded the 2013 City of Albuquerque library bond margin of 72% and the 66.3% margin for the 2012 County library bond. Voters in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County have now passed fifty-five consecutive library funding questions dating back to 1892, with an average margin of 68.3% favorable, and totaling $120 million in funding. The drop-off in support in Bernalillo County between the County Library Bond and State Bond B is 7%. The Bernalillo County library bond ranked second highest in voter support among the six bond issues proposed to county voters in 2014.

In Sandoval County, library bonds providing $3.25 million to 15 public and tribal libraries passed by a vote of 20,910 yes to 14,245 no, a 59.5 % margin. The drop-off in support in Sandoval County between the County Library Bond and State Bond B was only 3.4%. The county library bond also ranked second highest for Sandoval County among the four bond issues proposed in 2014. Two of the other Sandoval County bond issues were defeated.

The library community was mobilized to support Bond B through the activities of the Bonds for Libraries Special Interest Group (SIG). Under the chairmanship of Olivia Baca, the SIG met periodically to promote the legislation, raise funds, prepare and distribute campaign materials and place advertising. The SIG used a variety of media to promote passage of Bond B to both library allies and voters who may not use libraries. The SIG website, bondsforlibraires.org, provided updates on the status of the legislation and outreach projects. A radio spot ran on KMGA and KANW leading up to Election Day, in September and October 2014. Other outreach efforts included bookmarks, window clings, buttons and “shelfies”, photos of library supporters taken with a library card or library book. The photos were distributed through social media, including Facebook and Twitter. A display ad was also placed on the state’s leading political blog, “New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan.”. Bond B was endorsed by the Albuquerque Journal and other newspapers around the state. Our increased level of support in a generally conservative and low turnout election demonstrates that New Mexico citizens understand and value what libraries do for their communities.

New Mexico Library Association

Supporting and promoting New Mexico libraries and librarians

"New Mexico Library Association" is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. P.O. Box 26074, Albuquerque, NM 87125