45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2001

RELATING TO ELECTIONS; REQUIRING COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL CLERKS TO MAKE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AN UPDATED ABSENTEE BALLOT REGISTER.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. Section 1-6-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 132, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-6-6. ABSENTEE BALLOT REGISTER.--

A. For each election, the county clerk shall keep an "absentee ballot register", in which he shall enter:

(1) the name and address of each absentee ballot applicant;

(2) the date and time of receipt of the application;

(3) whether the application was accepted or rejected;

(4) the date of issue of an absentee ballot in the county clerk's office or at an alternate location or the mailing of an absentee ballot to the applicant;

(5) the applicant's precinct;

(6) whether the applicant is a voter, a federal voter, a federal qualified elector or an overseas citizen voter; and

(7) the date and time the completed absentee ballot was received from the applicant by the county clerk or the absent voter voted in the county clerk's office or at an alternate location.

B. Within twenty-four hours after receipt of a voter's application for an absentee ballot, the county clerk shall mail either the ballot or a notice of rejection to the applicant.

C. The absentee ballot register is a public record open to public inspection in the county clerk's office during regular office hours. The county clerk shall have an updated absentee ballot register available for public inspection Monday through Friday during regular office hours.

D. The county clerk shall deliver to the absent voter precinct on election day a complete list of all absentee ballot applicants with applicable information shown in the absentee ballot register for each applicant up to 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the election. The county clerk shall deliver a signature roster containing the same information as the lists to the absent voter precinct board.

E. The county clerk shall transmit to the secretary of state and to the county chairman of each of the major political parties in the county a complete copy of entries made in the absentee ballot register. Such transmissions shall be made once each week beginning four weeks immediately prior to the election. A final copy shall be transmitted on the Friday immediately following the election."

Section 2. Section 3-9-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 375, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:

"3-9-5. ABSENTEE BALLOT REGISTER.--

A. For each election, the municipal clerk shall keep an "absentee ballot register" in which he shall enter:

(1) in numerical sequence, the name and municipal address of each absentee ballot applicant;

(2) the date and time of receipt of the application;

(3) whether the application was accepted or rejected;

(4) the date of delivery to the voter in person in the office of the municipal clerk, or mailing of an absentee ballot to the applicant, the method of delivery and, if mailed, the address to which the ballot was mailed;

(5) the applicant's precinct and district number, if applicable;

(6) whether the applicant is a voter, a federal voter or a federal qualified elector;

(7) affidavits of voters who did not receive absentee ballots; and

(8) the date and time the completed ballot was received from the applicant by the municipal clerk.

B. The absentee ballot register is a public record open to public inspection in the municipal clerk's office during regular office hours and shall be preserved for two years after the date of the election. The municipal clerk shall have an updated absentee ballot register available for public inspection Monday through Friday during regular office hours.

C. For the purposes of recordkeeping, the absentee register may be combined with the early voting register, provided that the method of balloting shall be labeled either "absentee ballot" or "early voter"."