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SENATE BILL 485
57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Jay C. Block and Pat Boone
AN ACT
RELATING TO EARLY VOTING; REDUCING THE TIME TO VOTE EARLY;
AMENDING THE HOURS OF OPERATION FOR EARLY VOTING POLLING
LOCATIONS; REMOVING EXCEPTIONS TO THESE LOCATIONS AND HOURS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 1-6-5.7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2005,
Chapter 270, Section 40, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-6-5.7. EARLY VOTING--USE OF ABSENTEE VOTING
PROCEDURES--COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE--ALTERNATE VOTING
LOCATIONS.--
A. Commencing on the [twenty-eighth ] fifteenth day
preceding the election during the regular hours and days of
business at the county clerk's office and on the third Saturday
[immediately] prior to the date of the election, early voting
shall be conducted in each office of the county clerk; provided
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that:
(1) when marking a ballot in person at the
county clerk's office, the voter shall provide the required
voter identification to the county clerk or the clerk's
authorized representative. If the voter does not provide the
required voter identification, the voter shall be allowed to
vote on a provisional ballot. If the voter provides the
required voter identification, the voter, after subscribing an
application for an absentee ballot, shall be allowed to vote by
inserting the ballot into an optical scan tabulator certified
for in-person absentee voting at the county clerk's office.
The county clerk or the clerk's authorized representative shall
make an appropriate designation indicating that the voter has
voted. In marking the ballot, the voter may be assisted
pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-12-15 NMSA 1978;
(2) the act of marking the ballot in the
office of the county clerk shall be a convenience to the voter
in the delivery of the ballot and does not make the office of
the county clerk a polling place subject to the requirements of
a polling place in the Election Code;
(3) in addition to the [regular business hours
and] days of business of the county clerk's office and on the
[Saturday] three Saturdays immediately prior to the date of the
election, early voting [may ] shall be conducted in each office
of the county clerk [no earlier than ] beginning at 7:00 a.m.
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and shall close [no later than 9:00 ] at 7:00 p.m. and shall be
available for [at least eight ] twelve consecutive hours each
day; and not later than ninety days before each statewide
election, the county clerk shall post the location and hours of
operation at the county clerk's office and shall not modify the
location or hours of operation of early voting at the county
clerk's office [except with the written approval of the
secretary of state and upon posting the approved changes ]; and
(4) if the county clerk establishes an
additional alternate voting location near the clerk's office,
ballots may be marked in person at that location during the
regular [hours and] days of business beginning on the [twenty-
eighth] fifteenth day preceding the election and during the
hours for voting at alternate voting locations commencing on
the third Saturday prior to the election through the Saturday
immediately prior to the election. The additional alternate
voting location may be operated by the county clerk and the
county clerk's staff.
B. Commencing on the third Saturday prior to a
statewide election and ending on the Saturday immediately prior
to the date of the election, an early voter may vote in person
on a voting system at alternate voting locations that may be
established by the county clerk; provided that:
(1) the county clerk shall establish:
(a) in counties with more than ten
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thousand voters, not fewer than one alternate voting location;
(b) in counties with more than fifty
thousand voters, not fewer than four alternate voting
locations; and
(c) in counties with more than one
hundred fifty thousand voters, not fewer than fifteen alternate
voting locations; and
(2) not later than ninety days before each
statewide election, the county clerk shall post the location
and hours of operation for early voting locations in the
county, which shall open no earlier than 7:00 a.m. and shall
close no later than [9:00 ] 7:00 p.m. [Within ninety days of a
statewide election, a county clerk shall not modify the
location or hours of operation of early voting locations except
with the written approval of the secretary of state and upon
posting the approved changes ] Early voting locations shall be
open each day of early voting for [at least eight ] twelve
consecutive hours. [Alternate voting locations may be closed
Sundays and Mondays during the early voting period ]
C. Each early voting location shall comply with the
following provisions, unless the county clerk receives a
written waiver from the secretary of state specifying the
location and specific provision being waived:
(1) have ballots available for voters from
every precinct in the county;
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(2) have at least one optical scan tabulator
programmed to read every ballot style in the county;
(3) have at least one voting system available
to assist disabled voters to cast and record their votes;
(4) have a broadband internet connection;
(5) have sufficient spaces for at least five
voters to simultaneously and privately mark their ballots, with
at least one of those spaces wheelchair-accessible;
(6) have a secure area for storage of pre-
printed ballots or for storage of a paper ballot stock and a
system designed to print ballots at a polling location; and
(7) be in a location that is accessible and
compliant with the requirements of the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990.
D. When voting at an early voting location, the
voter shall provide the required voter identification to the
election board, county clerk or the clerk's authorized
representative. If the voter does not provide the required
voter identification, the voter shall be allowed to vote on a
provisional ballot. If the voter provides the required voter
identification, the voter shall be allowed to vote after
subscribing an application to vote on a form approved by the
secretary of state or its electronic equivalent approved by the
voting system certification committee. The county clerk or the
clerk's authorized representative shall make an appropriate
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designation on the signature roster or register next to the
voter's name indicating that the voter has voted early."
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