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HOUSE BILL 510
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
John Block and Rebecca Dow
AN ACT
RELATING TO ELECTIONS; PROVIDING DUTIES OF BOARDS OF
REGISTRATION; REQUIRING COUNTY CLERKS TO DEVELOP AND ADMINISTER
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR BOARDS OF REGISTRATION; REQUIRING
INFORMATION RELATING TO THE CANCELLATION OF A VOTER'S
REGISTRATION TO BE REPORTED TO BOARDS OF REGISTRATION;
REQUIRING THE BOARDS OF REGISTRATION TO CERTIFY THE
CANCELLATION OF ANY VOTER REGISTRATION; REQUIRING BOARDS OF
REGISTRATION TO MEET QUARTERLY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 1, Article 4 NMSA
1978 is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] BOARDS OF REGISTRATION--POWERS AND
DUTIES.--The boards of registration shall:
A. meet no later than one month after nomination of
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the board's members;
B. choose a chair and a vice chair;
C. ensure that the county clerk is complying with
the relevant sections of the Election Code;
D. verify the cancellation of deceased residents
from voter lists as required pursuant to Chapter 1, Article 4
NMSA 1978;
E. maintain voter lists and certify that actions
taken by a county clerk are accurate;
F. certify that address changes are accounted for
in the voter lists using records from the motor vehicle
division of the taxation and revenue department; and
G. operate independently."
SECTION 2. A new section of Chapter 1, Article 4 NMSA
1978 is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] REQUIRED EDUCATION.--County clerks shall
develop and administer programs annually that inform the board
of registration about the board's responsibility to maintain
accurate voter lists."
SECTION 3. Section 1-4-25 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969,
Chapter 240, Section 81, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-4-25. CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION--DETERMINATION OF
DEATH.--
A. For purposes of cancellation of registration,
the death of a voter shall be ascertained by obituary notices
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or probate records or by comparison of registration records
with monthly certified lists of deceased residents filed with
the secretary of state.
B. The state registrar of vital statistics shall
file monthly with the secretary of state certified lists of
deceased residents over the age of eighteen years, sorted by
county, regardless of the place of death.
C. The monthly certified list of deceased residents
shall show the:
(1) name;
(2) age;
(3) sex;
(4) marital status;
(5) birth place;
(6) birth date;
(7) social security number, if any;
(8) address; and
(9) place and date of death of the deceased
resident.
D. The secretary of state shall, upon receipt of
the monthly certified list of deceased residents, forward each
county's list to the county clerk and boards of registration .
E. The county clerk shall, upon receipt of the
monthly certified list of deceased residents, cancel any
deceased resident's certificate of registration and report
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these cancellations to boards of registration .
F. Upon receipt of a notarized document from the
president or governor of an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo or
from a tribal enrollment clerk indicating that a tribal member
is deceased, the county clerk shall cancel the certification of
registration of that deceased tribal member and report these
cancellations to boards of registration ."
SECTION 4. Section 1-4-28 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975,
Chapter 255, Section 46, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-4-28. CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION--CHANGE OF
RESIDENCE--NOTICE.--
A. The secretary of state, county clerks and boards
of registration, in compliance with the federal National Voter
Registration Act of 1993, shall remove from the official list
of eligible voters the names of voters who are ineligible to
vote due to change of residence.
B. The secretary of state shall conduct a general
program that identifies voters who may no longer reside at
their address of registration. This program shall use
information supplied by the United States postal service
national change of address service. This program may also
include, among other practices, identification of voters whose
official election-related mail is returned and periodic
mailings to voters to verify continued residency at their
address of registration, provided such practices are uniform,
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nondiscriminatory and in compliance with the federal Voting
Rights Act of 1965.
C. Between ninety and one hundred twenty days
before the next general election, the secretary of state shall
send to each voter who it appears has changed address from the
voter's precinct of registration a notice, sent by forwardable
mail, that shall include a postage prepaid and pre-addressed
return card. The notice shall state that:
(1) if the voter did not change residency, the
voter should return the card no later than twenty-eight days
before the next general election;
(2) if the voter does not return the card, the
voter may be provided an opportunity to update the voter's
registration address before the voter casts a ballot in any
election during the period beginning on the date of the notice
and ending on the day after the second general election that
occurs after the date of the notice;
(3) if the voter does not vote in any election
during the period beginning on the date of that notice and
ending on the day after the second general election that occurs
after the date of the notice, the voter's registration may be
canceled; and
(4) if the voter has changed residence within
the same county, the voter should complete the place on the
return card for the voter to indicate the address of the new
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residence and a request to have the voter's registration moved
to that address in the same county.
D. If the voter returned the card indicating a new
address and the address is:
(1) in the same county, the county clerk shall
correct the official list of eligible voters in accordance with
the change of residence information obtained on the return
card; or
(2) in another county, the county clerk shall
forward the return card to the appropriate county clerk, who
shall process the change of residence as a new registration in
the county.
E. No later than the fifteenth day of March
following a general election, the board of registration shall
review the list of eligible voters. The board of registration
shall direct the county clerk to cancel the registration and
shall certify the cancellation of any voter who has been sent
notice in conformance with this section and who:
(1) has failed to respond to the notice sent
in conformance with this section and has not voted or appeared
to vote in any election during the period beginning on the date
of the notice and ending on the day after the second general
election that occurs after the date of the notice; or
(2) has confirmed in writing that the voter
has changed residence to a place outside the state."
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SECTION 5. Section 1-4-38 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969,
Chapter 240, Section 94, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-4-38. BOARD OF REGISTRATION--MEETINGS.--
A. All meetings of the board of registration shall
be open meetings held in accordance with the Open Meetings Act.
B. The board of registration shall meet quarterly.
[B.] C. All reports and other records of the board
of registration shall be open to public inspection pursuant to
the Inspection of Public Records Act.
[C.] D. A person's month and day of birth, and any
part of a person's driver's license number or other identifier
assigned by the motor vehicle division of the taxation and
revenue department, state or federal tax identification number
or social security number shall not be disclosed in any meeting
or in any record of the board of registration made available to
the public. This subsection does not preclude disclosure of a
person's unique identifier as defined in Section 1-1-23 NMSA
1978.
[D.] E. Members of the board of registration are
entitled to receive per diem and mileage as provided in the Per
Diem and Mileage Act, to be paid out of the election funds
appropriated to the county clerk from the county general fund."
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