by Evie Stone

Voting rights advocates filed suit today in Albuquerque to challenge a state law they call "one of the most chilling and restrictive voter registration laws in the country."

The 2005 law requires volunteers who want to participate in registration drives to pre-register and submit an affidavit to the state; register no more than 50 voters at a time (unless they get special permission to take more registration forms); and turn in completed forms within 48 hours of picking them up at local election offices. Volunteers who knowingly break the rules can be slapped with fines or jailtime.

The plaintiffs say there is little or no evidence of voter fraud in New Mexico, and that the restrictions will severely limit the registration efforts of independent groups and disproportionately reduce voter participation in the communities they focus on: minorities, low-income voters, and the disabled.

New Mexico promises to be hotly contested this November. Bush narrowly carried the state in 2004; Gore won it by a tiny margin in 2000. A few thousand more registered voters could tip the balance.