NM
New Mexico House Bill HB510

New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico House Bill HB510 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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2828 HOUSE BILL 510
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3030 TH LEGISLATURE
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4545 2025
4646 INTRODUCED BY
4747 John Block and Rebecca Dow
4848 AN ACT
4949 RELATING TO ELECTIONS; PROVIDING DUTIES OF BOARDS OF
5050 REGISTRATION; REQUIRING COUNTY CLERKS TO DEVELOP AND ADMINISTER
5151 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR BOARDS OF REGISTRATION; REQUIRING
5252 INFORMATION RELATING TO THE CANCELLATION OF A VOTER'S
5353 REGISTRATION TO BE REPORTED TO BOARDS OF REGISTRATION;
5454 REQUIRING THE BOARDS OF REGISTRATION TO CERTIFY THE
5555 CANCELLATION OF ANY VOTER REGISTRATION; REQUIRING BOARDS OF
5656 REGISTRATION TO MEET QUARTERLY.
5757 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
5858 SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 1, Article 4 NMSA
5959 1978 is enacted to read:
6060 "[NEW MATERIAL] BOARDS OF REGISTRATION--POWERS AND
6161 DUTIES.--The boards of registration shall:
6262 A. meet no later than one month after nomination of
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9090 the board's members;
9191 B. choose a chair and a vice chair;
9292 C. ensure that the county clerk is complying with
9393 the relevant sections of the Election Code;
9494 D. verify the cancellation of deceased residents
9595 from voter lists as required pursuant to Chapter 1, Article 4
9696 NMSA 1978;
9797 E. maintain voter lists and certify that actions
9898 taken by a county clerk are accurate;
9999 F. certify that address changes are accounted for
100100 in the voter lists using records from the motor vehicle
101101 division of the taxation and revenue department; and
102102 G. operate independently."
103103 SECTION 2. A new section of Chapter 1, Article 4 NMSA
104104 1978 is enacted to read:
105105 "[NEW MATERIAL] REQUIRED EDUCATION.--County clerks shall
106106 develop and administer programs annually that inform the board
107107 of registration about the board's responsibility to maintain
108108 accurate voter lists."
109109 SECTION 3. Section 1-4-25 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969,
110110 Chapter 240, Section 81, as amended) is amended to read:
111111 "1-4-25. CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION--DETERMINATION OF
112112 DEATH.--
113113 A. For purposes of cancellation of registration,
114114 the death of a voter shall be ascertained by obituary notices
115115 .230348.1
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143143 or probate records or by comparison of registration records
144144 with monthly certified lists of deceased residents filed with
145145 the secretary of state.
146146 B. The state registrar of vital statistics shall
147147 file monthly with the secretary of state certified lists of
148148 deceased residents over the age of eighteen years, sorted by
149149 county, regardless of the place of death.
150150 C. The monthly certified list of deceased residents
151151 shall show the:
152152 (1) name;
153153 (2) age;
154154 (3) sex;
155155 (4) marital status;
156156 (5) birth place;
157157 (6) birth date;
158158 (7) social security number, if any;
159159 (8) address; and
160160 (9) place and date of death of the deceased
161161 resident.
162162 D. The secretary of state shall, upon receipt of
163163 the monthly certified list of deceased residents, forward each
164164 county's list to the county clerk and boards of registration .
165165 E. The county clerk shall, upon receipt of the
166166 monthly certified list of deceased residents, cancel any
167167 deceased resident's certificate of registration and report
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196196 these cancellations to boards of registration .
197197 F. Upon receipt of a notarized document from the
198198 president or governor of an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo or
199199 from a tribal enrollment clerk indicating that a tribal member
200200 is deceased, the county clerk shall cancel the certification of
201201 registration of that deceased tribal member and report these
202202 cancellations to boards of registration ."
203203 SECTION 4. Section 1-4-28 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975,
204204 Chapter 255, Section 46, as amended) is amended to read:
205205 "1-4-28. CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION--CHANGE OF
206206 RESIDENCE--NOTICE.--
207207 A. The secretary of state, county clerks and boards
208208 of registration, in compliance with the federal National Voter
209209 Registration Act of 1993, shall remove from the official list
210210 of eligible voters the names of voters who are ineligible to
211211 vote due to change of residence.
212212 B. The secretary of state shall conduct a general
213213 program that identifies voters who may no longer reside at
214214 their address of registration. This program shall use
215215 information supplied by the United States postal service
216216 national change of address service. This program may also
217217 include, among other practices, identification of voters whose
218218 official election-related mail is returned and periodic
219219 mailings to voters to verify continued residency at their
220220 address of registration, provided such practices are uniform,
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249249 nondiscriminatory and in compliance with the federal Voting
250250 Rights Act of 1965.
251251 C. Between ninety and one hundred twenty days
252252 before the next general election, the secretary of state shall
253253 send to each voter who it appears has changed address from the
254254 voter's precinct of registration a notice, sent by forwardable
255255 mail, that shall include a postage prepaid and pre-addressed
256256 return card. The notice shall state that:
257257 (1) if the voter did not change residency, the
258258 voter should return the card no later than twenty-eight days
259259 before the next general election;
260260 (2) if the voter does not return the card, the
261261 voter may be provided an opportunity to update the voter's
262262 registration address before the voter casts a ballot in any
263263 election during the period beginning on the date of the notice
264264 and ending on the day after the second general election that
265265 occurs after the date of the notice;
266266 (3) if the voter does not vote in any election
267267 during the period beginning on the date of that notice and
268268 ending on the day after the second general election that occurs
269269 after the date of the notice, the voter's registration may be
270270 canceled; and
271271 (4) if the voter has changed residence within
272272 the same county, the voter should complete the place on the
273273 return card for the voter to indicate the address of the new
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302302 residence and a request to have the voter's registration moved
303303 to that address in the same county.
304304 D. If the voter returned the card indicating a new
305305 address and the address is:
306306 (1) in the same county, the county clerk shall
307307 correct the official list of eligible voters in accordance with
308308 the change of residence information obtained on the return
309309 card; or
310310 (2) in another county, the county clerk shall
311311 forward the return card to the appropriate county clerk, who
312312 shall process the change of residence as a new registration in
313313 the county.
314314 E. No later than the fifteenth day of March
315315 following a general election, the board of registration shall
316316 review the list of eligible voters. The board of registration
317317 shall direct the county clerk to cancel the registration and
318318 shall certify the cancellation of any voter who has been sent
319319 notice in conformance with this section and who:
320320 (1) has failed to respond to the notice sent
321321 in conformance with this section and has not voted or appeared
322322 to vote in any election during the period beginning on the date
323323 of the notice and ending on the day after the second general
324324 election that occurs after the date of the notice; or
325325 (2) has confirmed in writing that the voter
326326 has changed residence to a place outside the state."
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355355 SECTION 5. Section 1-4-38 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969,
356356 Chapter 240, Section 94, as amended) is amended to read:
357357 "1-4-38. BOARD OF REGISTRATION--MEETINGS.--
358358 A. All meetings of the board of registration shall
359359 be open meetings held in accordance with the Open Meetings Act.
360360 B. The board of registration shall meet quarterly.
361361 [B.] C. All reports and other records of the board
362362 of registration shall be open to public inspection pursuant to
363363 the Inspection of Public Records Act.
364364 [C.] D. A person's month and day of birth, and any
365365 part of a person's driver's license number or other identifier
366366 assigned by the motor vehicle division of the taxation and
367367 revenue department, state or federal tax identification number
368368 or social security number shall not be disclosed in any meeting
369369 or in any record of the board of registration made available to
370370 the public. This subsection does not preclude disclosure of a
371371 person's unique identifier as defined in Section 1-1-23 NMSA
372372 1978.
373373 [D.] E. Members of the board of registration are
374374 entitled to receive per diem and mileage as provided in the Per
375375 Diem and Mileage Act, to be paid out of the election funds
376376 appropriated to the county clerk from the county general fund."
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