New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico Senate Bill SB485 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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28	28	SENATE BILL 485
29	29	57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2025
30	30	INTRODUCED BY
31	31	Jay C. Block and Pat Boone
32	32	AN ACT
33	33	RELATING TO EARLY VOTING; REDUCING THE TIME TO VOTE EARLY;
34	34	AMENDING THE HOURS OF OPERATION FOR EARLY VOTING POLLING
35	35	LOCATIONS; REMOVING EXCEPTIONS TO THESE LOCATIONS AND HOURS.
36	36	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
37	37	SECTION 1. Section 1-6-5.7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2005,
38	38	Chapter 270, Section 40, as amended) is amended to read:
39	39	"1-6-5.7. EARLY VOTING--USE OF ABSENTEE VOTING
40	40	PROCEDURES--COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE--ALTERNATE VOTING
41	41	LOCATIONS.--
42	42	A. Commencing on the [twenty-eighth ] fifteenth day
43	43	preceding the election during the regular hours and days of
44	44	business at the county clerk's office and on the third Saturday
45	45	[immediately] prior to the date of the election, early voting
46	46	shall be conducted in each office of the county clerk; provided
47	47	.230720.1 underscored material = new
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74	74	that:
75	75	(1) when marking a ballot in person at the
76	76	county clerk's office, the voter shall provide the required
77	77	voter identification to the county clerk or the clerk's
78	78	authorized representative. If the voter does not provide the
79	79	required voter identification, the voter shall be allowed to
80	80	vote on a provisional ballot. If the voter provides the
81	81	required voter identification, the voter, after subscribing an
82	82	application for an absentee ballot, shall be allowed to vote by
83	83	inserting the ballot into an optical scan tabulator certified
84	84	for in-person absentee voting at the county clerk's office.
85	85	The county clerk or the clerk's authorized representative shall
86	86	make an appropriate designation indicating that the voter has
87	87	voted. In marking the ballot, the voter may be assisted
88	88	pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-12-15 NMSA 1978;
89	89	(2) the act of marking the ballot in the
90	90	office of the county clerk shall be a convenience to the voter
91	91	in the delivery of the ballot and does not make the office of
92	92	the county clerk a polling place subject to the requirements of
93	93	a polling place in the Election Code;
94	94	(3) in addition to the [regular business hours
95	95	and] days of business of the county clerk's office and on the
96	96	[Saturday] three Saturdays immediately prior to the date of the
97	97	election, early voting [may ] shall be conducted in each office
98	98	of the county clerk [no earlier than ] beginning at 7:00 a.m.
99	99	.230720.1
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127	127	and shall close [no later than 9:00 ] at 7:00 p.m. and shall be
128	128	available for [at least eight ] twelve consecutive hours each
129	129	day; and not later than ninety days before each statewide
130	130	election, the county clerk shall post the location and hours of
131	131	operation at the county clerk's office and shall not modify the
132	132	location or hours of operation of early voting at the county
133	133	clerk's office [except with the written approval of the
134	134	secretary of state and upon posting the approved changes ]; and
135	135	(4) if the county clerk establishes an
136	136	additional alternate voting location near the clerk's office,
137	137	ballots may be marked in person at that location during the
138	138	regular [hours and] days of business beginning on the [twenty-
139	139	eighth] fifteenth day preceding the election and during the
140	140	hours for voting at alternate voting locations commencing on
141	141	the third Saturday prior to the election through the Saturday
142	142	immediately prior to the election. The additional alternate
143	143	voting location may be operated by the county clerk and the
144	144	county clerk's staff.
145	145	B. Commencing on the third Saturday prior to a
146	146	statewide election and ending on the Saturday immediately prior
147	147	to the date of the election, an early voter may vote in person
148	148	on a voting system at alternate voting locations that may be
149	149	established by the county clerk; provided that:
150	150	(1) the county clerk shall establish:
151	151	(a) in counties with more than ten
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180	180	thousand voters, not fewer than one alternate voting location;
181	181	(b) in counties with more than fifty
182	182	thousand voters, not fewer than four alternate voting
183	183	locations; and
184	184	(c) in counties with more than one
185	185	hundred fifty thousand voters, not fewer than fifteen alternate
186	186	voting locations; and
187	187	(2) not later than ninety days before each
188	188	statewide election, the county clerk shall post the location
189	189	and hours of operation for early voting locations in the
190	190	county, which shall open no earlier than 7:00 a.m. and shall
191	191	close no later than [9:00 ] 7:00 p.m. [Within ninety days of a
192	192	statewide election, a county clerk shall not modify the
193	193	location or hours of operation of early voting locations except
194	194	with the written approval of the secretary of state and upon
195	195	posting the approved changes ] Early voting locations shall be
196	196	open each day of early voting for [at least eight ] twelve
197	197	consecutive hours. [Alternate voting locations may be closed
198	198	Sundays and Mondays during the early voting period ]
199	199	C. Each early voting location shall comply with the
200	200	following provisions, unless the county clerk receives a
201	201	written waiver from the secretary of state specifying the
202	202	location and specific provision being waived:
203	203	(1) have ballots available for voters from
204	204	every precinct in the county;
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233	233	(2) have at least one optical scan tabulator
234	234	programmed to read every ballot style in the county;
235	235	(3) have at least one voting system available
236	236	to assist disabled voters to cast and record their votes;
237	237	(4) have a broadband internet connection;
238	238	(5) have sufficient spaces for at least five
239	239	voters to simultaneously and privately mark their ballots, with
240	240	at least one of those spaces wheelchair-accessible;
241	241	(6) have a secure area for storage of pre-
242	242	printed ballots or for storage of a paper ballot stock and a
243	243	system designed to print ballots at a polling location; and
244	244	(7) be in a location that is accessible and
245	245	compliant with the requirements of the federal Americans with
246	246	Disabilities Act of 1990.
247	247	D. When voting at an early voting location, the
248	248	voter shall provide the required voter identification to the
249	249	election board, county clerk or the clerk's authorized
250	250	representative. If the voter does not provide the required
251	251	voter identification, the voter shall be allowed to vote on a
252	252	provisional ballot. If the voter provides the required voter
253	253	identification, the voter shall be allowed to vote after
254	254	subscribing an application to vote on a form approved by the
255	255	secretary of state or its electronic equivalent approved by the
256	256	voting system certification committee. The county clerk or the
257	257	clerk's authorized representative shall make an appropriate
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286	286	designation on the signature roster or register next to the
287	287	voter's name indicating that the voter has voted early."
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