HB 101
Page 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
AN ACT
RELATING TO FIREARMS; MAKING AN EXEMPTION TO UNLAWFUL
POSSESSION OF A FIREARM AT A POLLING PLACE FOR COMMISSIONED
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 1-20-24 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2024,
Chapter 50, Section 1) is amended to read:
"1-20-24. UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM AT A POLLING
PLACE.--
A. Unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling
place consists of possession of a loaded or unloaded firearm
by any person within:
(1) one hundred feet of the door through
which voters may enter to vote at a school building in which
a polling place is located while early voting is in progress
or on election day;
(2) one hundred feet of the door through
which voters may enter to vote at the office of the county
clerk, an alternate voting location, a mobile voting site or
any location used as a polling place while early voting is in
progress or on election day that is not a school; or
(3) fifty feet of a monitored secured
container as used in Subsection E of Section 1-6-9 NMSA 1978,
beginning twenty-eight days before an election through HB 101
Page 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
election day.
B. The provisions of Subsection A of this section
do not apply to:
(1) a certified law enforcement officer in
performance of the officer's official duties;
(2) a law enforcement officer who is
certified pursuant to the Law Enforcement Training Act acting
in accordance with the policies of the officer's law
enforcement agency;
(3) a commissioned law enforcement officer
with the power to arrest in performance of the officer's
official duties;
(4) a commissioned law enforcement officer
with the power to arrest acting in accordance with the
policies of the officer's law enforcement agency;
(5) a person in a private automobile or
other private means of conveyance; or
(6) a person carrying a concealed firearm
who is in possession of a valid concealed handgun license for
that firearm pursuant to the Concealed Handgun Carry Act.
C. A person conducting lawful, non-election-
related business nearer than one hundred feet from the door
through which voters may enter to vote or nearer than fifty
feet from a monitored secured container is not guilty of
unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling place. HB 101
Page 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
D. A person who commits unlawful possession of a
firearm at a polling place is guilty of a petty misdemeanor
and shall be sentenced pursuant to Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.
E. For the purposes of this section, "firearm"
means a weapon that will or is designed to or may readily be
converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosion,
or the frame or receiver of any such weapon."