SB 16
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AN ACT
RELATING TO PRIMARY ELECTIONS; ALLOWING VOTERS WHO HAVE NOT
DESIGNATED A POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION ON THEIR
CERTIFICATES OF REGISTRATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PRIMARY
ELECTION PROCESS BY CHOOSING TO AFFILIATE WITH A MAJOR
POLITICAL PARTY PARTICIPATING IN A PRIMARY BY REQUESTING THE
PARTY'S BALLOT; MAKING CONFORMING CHANGES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 1-4-15 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969,
Chapter 240, Section 71, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-4-15. REGISTRATION--CHANGE OF PARTY AFFILIATION.--
A. A voter may change the voter's designated party
affiliation by executing a new certificate of registration
indicating the change of party affiliation.
B. A voter who has previously declined to
designate a party affiliation on the voter's certificate of
registration but who desires to designate a party affiliation
on the voter's certificate of registration shall execute a
new certificate of registration indicating the desired party
affiliation.
C. A voter who does not designate on the
certificate of registration a party affiliation shall be
considered to have declined to designate a party affiliation.
D. A voter who has declined to designate on the SB 16
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voter's certificate of registration a party affiliation but
who chooses to affiliate with a major political party that is
participating in a primary election may do so by requesting
the ballot of one of the parties participating in that
primary election. The voter's certificate of registration
shall not be changed to reflect a new or different party
affiliation unless the voter so requests in accordance with
the provisions of Subsection B of this section."
SECTION 2. Section 1-6-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969,
Chapter 240, Section 130, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-6-4. MAILED BALLOT APPLICATION.--
A. In a statewide election, application by a voter
for a mailed ballot shall be made only on the official form
approved by the secretary of state or its online equivalent
accessed through a website authorized by the secretary of
state. The form shall identify the applicant and contain
information to establish the applicant's qualification for
issuance of a mailed ballot under the Absent Voter Act. A
voter who has declined to designate on the voter's
certificate of registration a party affiliation shall be
provided the option on the application form for a mailed
ballot in a primary election to request the ballot of one of
the parties participating in the primary election.
B. Each application on a paper form for a mailed
ballot shall be signed by the applicant and shall require the SB 16
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applicant's printed name, registration address and year of
birth. When submitted by the voter, the county clerk shall
accept an application for a mailed ballot pursuant to this
subsection regardless of whether the application for a mailed
ballot is delivered to the county clerk on paper or by
electronic means. When submitted by a third party, the
county clerk shall not accept an application for a mailed
ballot pursuant to this subsection if the application for a
mailed ballot is delivered by electronic means.
C. The secretary of state shall allow a voter to
submit an online application for a mailed ballot through a
website authorized by the secretary of state; provided that
the voter shall have a current or expired New Mexico driver's
license or state identification card issued by the motor
vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department. An
online request for a mailed ballot shall contain all of the
information that is required for a paper form. The voter
shall also provide the person's full New Mexico driver's
license number or state identification card number.
D. When a voter requests a mailed ballot pursuant
to this section, the voter shall mark the box associated with
the following statement, which shall be included as part of
the online mailed ballot request form:
"By clicking the boxes below, I swear or affirm all of
the following: SB 16
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[ ] I am the person whose name and identifying
information is provided on this form and I desire to request a
mailed ballot to vote in the state of New Mexico; and
[ ] All of the information that I have provided on
this form is true and correct as of the date I am submitting
this form.".
E. Online applications for mailed ballots shall
retain the dates of submission by the qualified elector and of
acceptance by the county clerk. For purposes of deadlines
contained in the Election Code, the time and date of the
submission by the voter shall be considered the time and date
when the application for a mailed ballot is received by the
county clerk.
F. New registrants who registered for the first
time in this state by mail and at that time did not provide
acceptable documentary identification as required by federal
law shall be informed of the need to comply with federal
identification requirements when returning the requested
ballot and notified that if the registrant votes for the first
time in New Mexico by mail and does not follow the
instructions for returning the required documentary
identification, the registrant waives the right to secrecy in
that mailed ballot. The secretary of state shall issue rules
to exempt voters from submitting identification only as
required by federal law and shall review and, if necessary, SB 16
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update these rules no later than March 15 of even-numbered
years.
G. A person who willfully and with knowledge and
intent to deceive or mislead any voter, election board,
canvassing board, county clerk or other election official and
who falsifies any information on an absentee ballot request
form or who affixes a signature or mark other than the
person's own on a mailed ballot request form is guilty of a
fourth degree felony."
SECTION 3. Section 1-6-22.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2009,
Chapter 251, Section 1 and Laws 2009, Chapter 274, Section 1,
as amended) is amended to read:
"1-6-22.1. MAIL BALLOT ELECTION PRECINCT--ABSENTEE
VOTING IN LIEU OF POLLING PLACE.--
A. Notwithstanding the provisions of
Sections 1-1-11 and 1-1-12 NMSA 1978, not later than the first
Monday in November of each odd-numbered year, a board of
county commissioners may designate a precinct as a mail ballot
election precinct if, upon a written request of the county
clerk, it finds that the precinct has fewer than one hundred
voters and the nearest polling place for an adjoining precinct
is more than twenty miles driving distance from the boundary
for the precinct in question.
B. If a precinct is designated a mail ballot
election precinct, in addition to the notice required pursuant SB 16
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to Section 1-3-8 NMSA 1978, the county clerk shall notify by
mail with delivery confirmation all voters in that precinct at
least forty-two days before an election that each voter will
be sent an absentee ballot twenty-eight days before the
election and that there will be no polling place for the
precinct on election day. The county clerk shall include in
the notice a card informing the voter that if the voter does
not want to receive an absentee ballot for that election, the
voter should return the card before the date the county clerk
is scheduled to mail out absentee ballots. The notice shall
also inform the voter that a voting system equipped for
persons with disabilities will be available at all early
voting locations before election day and in the office of the
county clerk on election day in case the voter prefers to vote
in person and not by mail. In addition, the notice shall
inform the voter of the ability of the voter to cast a ballot
at any voter convenience center on election day if the voter
chooses not to receive an absentee ballot, or to cast a
replacement ballot at any early voting location or voter
convenience center if the voter does not receive an absentee
ballot, which will be counted upon confirmation that the
voter has not returned the absentee ballot. The notice
shall also contain the information required in the voter
notification sent by the secretary of state on behalf of each
county clerk in advance of a statewide election pursuant to SB 16
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Section 1-11-4.1 NMSA 1978.
C. For a primary election, the notice sent to
voters who have not designated a party affiliation on their
certificates of registration shall inform such voters that the
voters may return the card and indicate which major political
party's ballot the voter chooses for that primary election or
log on to a website hosted by the secretary of state to
indicate which major political party's ballot the voter
chooses for that primary election.
D. The county clerk shall mail each voter in the
mail ballot election precinct an absentee ballot on the
twenty-eighth day before an election, unless the voter has
requested otherwise or does not return the card required by
Subsection C of this section indicating which party ballot
the voter chooses for that election, along with a notice
that there will be no polling place in that precinct on
election day."
SECTION 4. Section 1-12-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969,
Chapter 240, Section 246, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-12-7. CONDUCT OF ELECTION--PERSONS NOT PERMITTED TO
VOTE--PERSONS PERMITTED TO VOTE UPON CHOOSING TO AFFILIATE
WITH A PARTY.--
A. A person shall not vote in a primary, general
or statewide special election unless the person is a voter of
the county in which the person offers to vote. A valid SB 16
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original certificate of registration in the county register is
prima facie evidence of being a voter in the precinct.
B. A person at a primary election shall not be
permitted to vote for the candidate of any party other than
the party designated on the person's current certificate of
registration; provided that a person who has declined to
designate a political party affiliation on the person's
certificate of registration shall be permitted to choose to
affiliate with a major political party in a primary election
by requesting a major political party's primary election
ballot and shall be permitted to vote for the candidates on
that party's ballot."
SECTION 5. Section 1-12-7.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969,
Chapter 240, Section 112, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-12-7.1. VOTER LISTS--SIGNATURE ROSTERS--CHECKLIST OF
VOTERS--USE DURING ELECTION.--
A. At each election day polling location, other
than a consolidated precinct where any voter in the county may
vote, the precinct board shall post securely at or near the
entrance of the polling place one copy of an alphabetical list
of voters and a map of the precincts represented in that
polling place for use of the voters prior to voting. The
posted copy shall not contain a listing of voter addresses,
years, months or days of birth or social security numbers.
B. At each polling location where physical rosters SB 16
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are used, the presiding judge of the precinct board shall
assign one judge or election clerk of the board to be in
charge of one copy of the checklist of voters, which shall be
used to confirm the registration and voting of each person
offering to vote.
C. The presiding judge of the precinct board shall
assign one judge or election clerk to be in charge of the
signature roster.
D. The judge or election clerk assigned to confirm
registration shall determine that each person offering to vote
is registered and, in the case of a primary election, that the
voter is either currently registered in a party designated on
the primary election ballot or has declined to designate a
party affiliation on the voter's certificate of registration
and chooses to affiliate with a major political party for that
primary election by requesting a ballot of a party designated
on the primary election ballot. If the person's registration
is confirmed and the voter provides the required voter
identification, the judge or election clerk shall announce to
the judges or election clerks the list number and the name of
the voter as shown on the checklist of voters. If the voter
does not provide the required voter identification, the voter
shall be allowed to vote on a provisional paper ballot and
shall provide the required voter identification to the
county clerk's office before 5:00 p.m. on the second day SB 16
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following the election, or to the precinct board before the
polls close, or the voter's provisional ballot shall not be
qualified. If the required voter identification is provided,
the voter's provisional paper ballot shall be qualified and
the voter shall not vote on any other type of ballot.
E. The judge or election clerk shall locate the
name on the signature roster and shall require the voter to
sign the voter's usual signature or, if unable to write, to
make the voter's mark opposite the voter's printed name. If
the voter makes the voter's mark, it shall be witnessed by one
of the judges or election clerks of the precinct board.
F. If the signature roster indicates that the
voter is required to present a physical form of identification
before voting, the judge or election clerk shall ask the voter
for the required physical form of identification. If the
voter does not provide the required identification, the voter
shall be allowed to vote on a provisional paper ballot;
provided, however, that if the voter brings the required
physical form of identification to the polling place after
casting a provisional paper ballot, that ballot shall be
qualified.
G. The judge or election clerk shall follow
the procedures provided for in Sections 1-12-7.2 and
1-12-8 NMSA 1978 if a person whose name does not appear on the
signature roster requests to vote or a person is required to SB 16
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vote on a provisional paper ballot.
H. A voter shall not be permitted to vote until
the voter has properly signed the voter's usual signature or
made the voter's mark in the signature roster."
SECTION 6. Section 1-12-7.2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969,
Chapter 240, Section 114, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-12-7.2. VOTER WHOSE NAME IS NOT ON LIST OR ROSTER.--
A. A voter whose name does not appear on the voter
list and signature roster for the precinct in which the voter
offers to vote shall be permitted to vote in the precinct
pursuant to the federal National Voter Registration Act
of 1993 and Section 1-12-8 NMSA 1978.
B. The judges or election clerks in charge of the
signature rosters shall add the voter's name and address in
ink to the signature roster on the line immediately following
the last entered voter's name, and the voter shall be allowed
to sign an affidavit of eligibility and cast a provisional
paper ballot; provided that the voter has first signed or
marked both the signature roster and checklist of registered
voters.
C. The provisional paper ballot tracking number
for the voter shall be entered on the affidavit of
eligibility, the signature roster and the checklist of
registered voters.
D. In a primary election, a voter shall not be SB 16
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permitted to vote for a candidate of a party different from
the party designation shown on the voter's certificate of
registration unless the voter's certificate of registration
shows that the voter has declined to designate a party
affiliation and the voter chooses to affiliate with a major
political party for that primary election by requesting the
ballot of a party participating in the primary. Upon making
that determination, the county clerk shall transmit the ballot
to the county canvassing board to be tallied and included in
the canvass of that county for the appropriate precinct."
SECTION 7. Section 1-12-20 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969,
Chapter 240, Section 273, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-12-20. CONDUCT OF ELECTION--INTERPOSING
CHALLENGES.--A challenge may be interposed by a member of the
precinct board or by a party challenger for the following
reasons:
A. the person offering to vote is not registered
to vote;
B. the person offering to vote is listed among
those persons to whom an absentee ballot was mailed;
C. the person offering to vote has already cast a
ballot in that election;
D. the person offering to vote is improperly
registered because the person is not a qualified elector; or
E. in the case of a primary election, the person SB 16
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desiring to vote is currently affiliated with a major
political party or a political party not represented on the
ballot and the person requests a ballot for a party with which
the person is not affiliated."
SECTION 8. Section 1-15A-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977,
Chapter 230, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-15A-2. VOTING IN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY--DATE OF
ELECTION.--
A. In the year in which the president and
vice president of the United States are to be elected, the
registered voters of this state shall be given an opportunity
to express their preference for the person to be the
presidential candidate of their political party in either a
presidential primary election or in accordance with the
selection procedure for presidential candidates of each
voter's party. The presidential primary election shall be
held on the same date as the primary election is held in this
state.
B. A voter may vote in a presidential primary
election on the ballot of only one of the parties
participating in the primary election in accordance with the
provisions of Section 1-12-7 NMSA 1978."
SECTION 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.