HOUSE BILL 299
49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009
INTRODUCED BY
Al Park
AN ACT
RELATING TO ELECTIONS; PROVIDING FOR AN ALTERNATE METHOD FOR PRIMARY BALLOT ACCESS; SETTING FEES; RECONCILING MULTIPLE AMENDMENTS TO THE SAME SECTION OF LAW IN LAWS 1993.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. A new section of the Primary Election Law is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] ALTERNATE METHOD FOR PRIMARY BALLOT ACCESS FOR MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATES--FEES.--
A. In lieu of submitting a nominating petition otherwise required by law, or being nominated at a party convention, a person may become a major party candidate for office in a primary election by paying the proper fee as specified in Subsection B of this section at the time of filing a declaration of candidacy.
B. Filing fees for primary ballot access are as follows:
(1) for offices for which a salary is paid, four percent of the annual salary for that office;
(2) for state legislator, one hundred dollars ($100); and
(3) for any other office for which no salary is paid, fifty dollars ($50.00).
C. Filing fees shall be paid to the office where the candidate is required to file a declaration of candidacy. If a candidate who has paid a filing fee receives at least fifteen percent of the vote for the office for which the candidate is running in the primary election, the candidate shall be refunded one-half of the filing fee paid by the candidate within forty-five days of the election."
Section 2. Section 1-8-21 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1996, Chapter 20, Section 3) is amended to read:
"1-8-21. PRIMARY ELECTION--METHODS OF PLACING NAMES ON PRIMARY BALLOT.--
A. All candidates seeking primary election nomination to a statewide office or the office of United States representative shall file declarations of candidacy with the proper filing officer. Candidates shall file nominating petitions or filing fees at the time of filing their declarations of candidacy. Candidates who seek, but do not obtain, preprimary convention designation by a major political party may file new declarations of candidacy and nominating petitions pursuant to Section 1-8-33 NMSA 1978.
B. Candidates for any other office shall have their names placed on the primary election ballot by filing declarations of candidacy and nominating petitions or filing fees with the proper filing officer. Candidates for county office shall [also] pay filing fees or file the proper paupers' statements at the time of filing declarations of candidacy."
Section 3. Section 1-8-26 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, Chapter 295, Section 12, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-8-26. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--TIME OF FILING--DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO QUALIFY FOR BALLOT--CHALLENGE.--
A. Declarations of candidacy by preprimary convention designation for any statewide office or for the office of United States representative and declarations of candidacy for retention of a justice of the supreme court or judge of the court of appeals shall be filed with the proper filing officer on the second Tuesday in February of each even-numbered year between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
B. Declarations of candidacy for any other office and declarations of candidacy for retention for all affected district judicial offices shall be filed with the proper filing officer on the third Tuesday of March of each even-numbered year between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
C. Certificates of designation shall be submitted to the secretary of state on the first Tuesday following the preprimary convention at which the candidate's designation took place between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
D. No candidate's name shall be placed on the ballot until the candidate has been notified in writing by the proper filing officer that the declaration of candidacy, the petition or filing fee and the certificate of registration of the candidate on file are in proper order and that the candidate, based on those documents, is qualified to have [his] the candidate's name placed on the ballot. The proper filing officer shall mail the notice no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday following the filing date.
E. If a candidate is notified by the proper filing officer that [he] the candidate is not qualified to have [his] the candidate's name appear on the ballot, the candidate may challenge that decision by filing a petition with the district court within ten days of the notification. The district court shall hear and render a decision on the matter within ten days after the petition is filed."
Section 4. Section 1-8-27 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 172, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-8-27. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY--MANNER OF FILING.--Each declaration of candidacy, by filing fee, by nominating petition or by preprimary convention designation, shall be delivered for filing in person by the candidate therein named or by a person acting, by virtue of written authorization, solely on the candidate's behalf. The proper filing officer shall not accept for filing more than one declaration of candidacy from any one individual, except that candidates who seek but fail to receive preprimary convention designation shall file a declaration of candidacy by nomination, according to provisions of the Primary Election Law, to have their names placed on the primary election
ballot."
Section 5. Section 1-8-29 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 228, Section 3, as amended by Laws 1993, Chapter 55, Section 5 and by Laws 1993, Chapter 314, Section 46 and also by Laws 1993, Chapter 316, Section 46) is amended to read:
"1-8-29. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY--FORM.--In making a declaration of candidacy by nominating petition or by pre-primary convention designation, the candidate shall submit substantially the following form:
"DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY
BY PRE-PRIMARY CONVENTION DESIGNATION
(OR BY NOMINATING PETITION)
I, ____________________, (candidate's name on certificate of registration) being first duly sworn, say that I reside at ___________________, as shown by my certificate of registration as a voter of Precinct No. __________ of the county of _______________, State of New Mexico;
I am a member of the ____________________ party as shown by my certificate of registration and I have not changed such party affiliation subsequent to the governor's proclamation calling the primary in which I seek to be a candidate;
I desire to become a candidate for the office of ______________________ at the primary election to be held on the date set by law for this year, and if the office be that of a member of the legislature or that of a member of the [state board of] public education commission, that I actually reside at the address designated on my certificate of voter registration;
I will be eligible and legally qualified to hold this office at the beginning of its term;
If a candidate for any office for which a nominating petition is required, I am submitting with this statement a nominating petition in the form and manner as prescribed by the Primary Election Law or paying the proper filing fee in lieu of the petition as allowed by law; and
I make the foregoing affidavit under oath, knowing that any false statement herein constitutes a felony punishable under the criminal laws of New Mexico.
_______________________________
(Declarant)
_______________________________
(Mailing Address)
_______________________________
(Residence Address)
Subscribed and sworn to before me this _____ day of
_______________, [19] 20 _____.
_________________________
(Notary Public)
My commission expires:
_________________________"."
Section 6. Section 1-8-30 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 228, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-8-30. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY--NOMINATING PETITION--FILING AND FORM.--
A. As used in the Primary Election Law, "nominating petition" means the authorized form used for obtaining the required number of signatures of voters, which is signed on behalf of the person wishing to become a candidate for a political office in the primary election requiring a nominating petition.
B. In making a declaration of candidacy, the candidate at the same time shall file a nominating petition, which shall be on the form prescribed by law or pay the proper filing fee in lieu of the petition as allowed by law.
C. The nominating petition shall be on paper approximately eight and one-half inches wide and eleven inches long with numbered lines for signatures spaced approximately three-eighths of an inch apart and shall be in the following form:
"NOMINATING PETITION
I, the undersigned, a registered voter of the county of _______________, New Mexico, and a member of the _______________ party, hereby nominate ____________________, who resides at __________________ in the county of _______________, New Mexico, for the party nomination for the office of ________________________, to be voted for at the primary election to be held on the first Tuesday of June, 20 _____, and I declare that I am a resident of the state, district, county or area to be represented by the office for which the person being nominated is a candidate. I also declare that I have not signed, and will not sign, any nominating petition for more persons than the number of candidates necessary to fill such office at the next ensuing general election.
1. _____________ _______________ ______________ __________
(usual (name printed (address as (city or
signature) as registered) registered) rt. no.)
2. _____________ _______________ ______________ __________
(usual (name printed (address as (city or
signature) as registered) registered) rt. no.).".
D. In October of odd-numbered years, the secretary of state shall furnish to each county clerk a sample of a nominating petition form, a copy of which shall be made available by the county clerk upon request of any candidate.
E. When more than one sheet is required for a petition, each of the sheets shall be in the form prescribed by this section and all sheets shall be firmly secured by a staple or other suitable fastening."
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