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SANTA FE 鈥� New Mexico independents can now vote in state primary elections under a 2025 law that was used for the first time this year.

But independent candidates for statewide office still face far more daunting voter signature requirements to qualify for the general election ballot than do major party candidates.

In an attempt to change that, gubernatorial candidate Ken Miyagishima has filed a lawsuit in state District Court in Santa Fe arguing the signature hurdle places a "severe burden" on independent candidates.

Miyagishima, who faces a looming June 25 deadline to submit at least 14,200 voter signatures in order to qualify for the November ballot, said the current system unfairly favors Democratic and Republican candidates.

"It makes it more difficult for (independents) to even run for office," he told the Journal.

Miyagishima, the former mayor of Las Cruces, filed the lawsuit against Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver without an attorney after he said multiple lawyers declined to take on the case.

He said he's currently gathered roughly half of the necessary signatures to qualify for the ballot and acknowledged gathering the remaining voter signatures in the next three weeks will be difficult.

Lindsey Bachman, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State's Office, said the office was still in the process of reviewing Miyagishima's lawsuit.

She confirmed that state law requires independent candidates for statewide office 鈥� including governor 鈥� to gather voter signatures from at least 2% of the voters who cast ballots in the state's most recent gubernatorial election.

Under this year's calculations, that means at least 14,200 verified voter signatures. In contrast, Democratic candidates for governor this year were required to submit at least 2,505 signatures to preliminarily qualify for the primary ballot, while Republicans were required to file at least 2,351 valid signatures 鈥� or 2% of the votes cast in their party's last gubernatorial primary.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit is not the first time court challenges have been filed in New Mexico targeting petition signatures for independent candidates to appear on the ballot.

Several similar lawsuits have been filed over the last 10-plus years, including one by former state legislator Bob Perls in 2016. Those lawsuits have all been unsuccessful, with state election officials arguing major party candidates must go through a more vigorous vetting process to be included on the ballot.

The number of independents in New Mexico has surged in recent years, especially since the state implemented a new automatic voter registration system last year.

As of last month, there were more than 380,000 independents around the state 鈥� or of New Mexico's total voters, according to Secretary of State's Office data.

New Mexico didn鈥檛 even allow independent candidates to run for office until the Legislature changed the law in 1977 鈥� after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled states must have procedures for independent candidates. The law change also came after independent presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy sued New Mexico in 1976 and won.

While no independent candidate has ever won election to statewide office in New Mexico, several legislators have changed their party affiliation to independent after being elected.

As for Miyagishima, he announced his bid for governor last year but said in February he would run as an independent instead of as a Democrat.

Widely known as "Mayor Ken" during his four terms as mayor of Las Cruces, Miyagishima sought to portray himself as a business-friendly Democrat while in office and opposed the state's push to legalize adult-use cannabis sales.

No court hearings have been scheduled yet under Miyagishima's lawsuit, which has been assigned to District Court Judge Matthew Wilson of Santa Fe.

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.