HOUSE BILL 318
56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023
INTRODUCED BY
Tara L. Lujan and Derrick J. Lente and Crystal R. Diamond
AN ACT
RELATING TO ELECTIONS; REVISING COMPENSATION FOR ELECTION BOARD MEMBERS, THE TIME FOR PROCESSING CERTAIN CERTIFICATES OF REGISTRATION AND CANCELLATIONS, PROVISIONS FOR ACCEPTING AND PROCESSING ABSENTEE BALLOTS AND RETENTION OF VOTING RECORDS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 1-2-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 36, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-2-16. ELECTION BOARD--COMPENSATION.--
A. Members of an election board shall be compensated for their services at the rate of not less than the federal minimum hourly wage rate nor more than [two hundred dollars ($200)] four hundred dollars ($400) for an election day.
B. Members of an election board assigned to alternate voting or alternate mobile voting locations or absent voter precincts may be compensated at an hourly rate set by the county clerk.
C. Compensation shall be paid by the secretary of state or the county clerk within thirty days following the date of election.
D. The secretary of state shall determine if payment is made to each county through a direct payment process to election board members or by means of a grant or reimbursement to the county election fund.
[D.] E. For purposes of determining eligibility for membership in the public employees retirement association and pursuant to the provisions of Subsection B of Section 10-11-3 NMSA 1978, election board members are designated as seasonal employees."
SECTION 2. Section 1-4-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 66, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-4-8. DUTIES OF COUNTY CLERK--ACCEPTANCE OF REGISTRATION--CLOSE OF REGISTRATION--LATE REGISTRATION.--For qualified electors seeking to register to vote or update an existing voter registration in the state, the following provisions shall apply:
A. to participate in an election, the deadline to register to vote or update an existing voter registration is twenty-eight days prior to that election;
B. the county clerk shall receive certificates of registration at all times during normal working hours, except that the clerk shall not process any certificate of registration subscribed and sworn beginning the first business day after the deadline to register to vote or update an existing voter registration before an election if the residential address on the certificate of registration indicates that the registration is for a:
(1) statewide election, within the county; or
(2) special election, within any precinct in the county in which votes may be cast in the special election;
C. between the deadline to register to vote or update an existing voter registration through the day of the election, the county clerk shall process all:
(1) new voter registrations that meet the requirements of this section;
(2) updates to existing voter registrations in this state that meet the requirements of this section; provided that an update to an existing registration in this state shall not be processed if the voter has requested or been sent a ballot in the election, unless the voter executes an affidavit stating that the voter has not and will not vote the ballot that was issued and the ballot register does not show that a ballot from the voter has been cast in the election; and
(3) pending cancellations of existing voter registrations in this state through the day of the election; provided that a cancellation of an existing voter registration shall not be processed if the voter has requested or been sent a ballot in the election;
D. certificates of registration and cancellations of existing voter registrations not processed pursuant to Subsection B or C of this section [shall] may be processed beginning [thirty-five days after] the Monday following an election and shall be processed beginning no later than the first business day after the approval of the county canvass report for that election, at which time a voter information document shall be mailed to the registrant at the address shown on the certificate of registration; provided that if there is a subsequent election scheduled at which a qualified elector or voter would be eligible to vote if the certificate of registration were processed on an earlier date, the certificate of registration for that qualified elector or voter shall be processed by the county clerk on a day and in a manner to ensure the ability of the qualified elector or voter to vote in the subsequent election;
E. when the deadline to register to vote or update an existing voter registration prior to an election referred to in this section is a Saturday, Sunday or state holiday, registration certificates shall be accepted through the next succeeding business day for the office of the county clerk; and
F. the county clerk shall accept for filing and process any certificate of registration that is subscribed and dated on or before the deadline to register to vote or update an existing voter registration prior to an election and:
(1) received by the county clerk by the end of the last regular business day of the week for the office of the county clerk immediately following the deadline to register to vote or update an existing voter registration prior to an election;
(2) mailed and postmarked on or before the day of the deadline to register to vote or update an existing voter registration prior to any election referred to in this section; or
(3) accepted at a state agency designated pursuant to Section 1-4-5.2 NMSA 1978."
SECTION 3. Section 1-6-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 131, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-6-5. PROCESSING APPLICATION--ISSUANCE OF BALLOT.--
A. The county clerk shall mark each completed application for a mailed ballot with the date and time of receipt in the clerk's office and enter the required information in the ballot register. The county clerk shall then determine if the applicant is a voter and if the voter is a uniformed-service voter or an overseas voter. If the applicant is a uniformed-service voter or overseas voter, the application shall be processed pursuant to the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act. An application for a mailed ballot from a voter who is not a federal qualified elector is timely if received by the county clerk no later than fourteen days prior to election day.
B. If the applicant does not have a valid certificate of registration on file in the county, a mailed ballot shall not be issued and the county clerk shall mark the application "rejected" and file the application in a separate file from those accepted [and notify the applicant in writing with an explanation why the application was rejected].
C. When required by federal law, if the applicant has on file with the county a valid certificate of registration that indicates that the applicant is a voter who is a new registrant in the state and who registered by mail without submitting the required documentary identification, the county clerk shall notify the voter that the voter must submit with the mailed ballot a form of documentary identification from the list in Paragraph (3) of Subsection I of Section 1-4-5.1 NMSA 1978. The county clerk shall note on the ballot register and signature roster that the applicant's mailed ballot must be returned with the required voter identification.
D. If the applicant has on file with the county a valid certificate of registration, the county clerk shall mark the application "accepted" and deliver a mailed ballot to the voter and the required envelopes for use in returning the ballot.
E. Upon the mailing of a mailed ballot to an applicant who is a voter, an appropriate designation shall be made [on the signature line of the signature roster next to the name of the voter] in the absentee ballot register.
F. A mailed ballot shall not be delivered by the county clerk to any person other than the applicant for the ballot. Mailed ballots shall be sent to applicants beginning twenty-eight days before the election. For each application for a mailed ballot received twenty-three or more days before the election, the county clerk shall send either the ballot or a notice of rejection to the applicant as soon as practicable; provided that the ballot or a notice of rejection is sent not later than twenty-two days before the election. For each application for a mailed ballot received within twenty-two days of election day, the county clerk shall send either the mailed ballot or a notice of rejection to the applicant within twenty-four hours after receipt of the voter's application for a mailed ballot. [A mailed ballot shall be requested not later than the Thursday immediately prior to the date of the election and shall be sent to the voter not later than the Friday immediately prior to the date of the election.]
G. If the application for a mailed ballot from a voter who is not a federal qualified elector indicates that the mailed ballot is to be delivered to an address other than an address listed on the voter's certificate of registration, the county clerk shall prepare a notice of requested mailed ballot. The notice of requested mailed ballot shall inform the voter of the address to which the ballot was mailed along with the phone number of the county clerk's office and the internet address of the voter web portal provided by the secretary of state. The county clerk shall not deliver the notice of requested mailed ballot to any person other than the applicant for the ballot. The notice of requested mailed ballot shall be sent to the address provided on the voter's certificate of registration on the same day the county clerk sends the mailed ballot to the address requested by the voter.
H. When an application for a mailed ballot is rejected pursuant to this section, the county clerk shall send a notice of rejection to the mailing address on the voter's certificate of registration and the address listed on the voter's application for mailed ballot, if different. The notice of rejection shall indicate the reason for the rejection and, if applicable, information on how to satisfy the rejection. If an application is rejected because it was not timely received, the county clerk shall, within twenty-four hours of receipt of the application, send a rejection notice to the voter that shall include a list of the early voting locations and election day polling places in the county.
I. The county clerk shall only accept applications for a mailed ballot made through the official web portal operated by the secretary of state or submitted on the official paper form sent to the voter by the county clerk. If a voter submits more than one application for a mailed ballot containing the same information, subsequent applications containing the same information shall not be processed."
SECTION 4. Section 1-12-69 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, Chapter 222, Section 72, as amended) is repealed and a new Section 1-12-69 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:
"1-12-69. [NEW MATERIAL] DISPOSITION OF PAPER BALLOTS AND RECORDS RELATING TO VOTING.--
A. Paper ballots marked by voters, paper records related to voting in any election and materials requested by the secretary of state for canvass, recheck and recount shall be retained and preserved for the greater of:
(1) twenty-two months from the date of the election for any election in which a federal office appears on the ballot; or
(2) two months from the date of the election for all other elections; or
(3) upon resolution of a contest or other judicial inquiry, including all appeals, for any election, precinct or polling place that is the subject of the contest or other judicial inquiry.
B. Following the retention period, paper ballots marked by voters, paper records related to voting and materials requested by the secretary of state for canvass, recount and recheck retained and preserved in the county may be destroyed at a time and in a manner as determined by the county clerk; provided that the county clerk shall use one of the destruction methods approved by the state records administrator for destruction of public records. Any interested person shall be permitted to be present during the destruction of paper materials by the county clerk. At least three days prior to destruction, the clerk shall post on the county website a notice of destruction of paper ballots, paper records related to voting and materials requested by the secretary of state for canvass, recount and recheck and shall provide notice to the county chair of each political party participating in that election. The notice shall include information regarding the election that is the subject of the records destruction and the date, time and place where marked ballots and records related to voting will be destroyed.
C. During the retention period, the county clerk may determine that paper ballots marked by voters, physical records related to voting and materials requested by the secretary of state for canvass, recount and recheck from an election should be retained and preserved by the state records administrator. The state records administrator shall receive for storage paper ballots marked by voters, physical records related to voting and copies of materials requested by the secretary of state for canvass, recheck or recount and, following the retention periods required by this section, may destroy the ballots and physical records pursuant to the procedures used by the state records administrator for destruction of public records following a retention period. The state records administrator may enter into a memorandum of understanding with the secretary of state to cover the costs of storage through the state election fund. The county clerk shall post on the county website a notice at least three days prior to sending ballots and physical records related to voting to the state records administrator.
D. Paper ballots marked by voters, their digitized equivalents and records related to voting are exempt from third-party inspection except as otherwise provided in the Election Code beginning ninety days before an election and until the later of sixty days following adjournment of the state or county canvassing board for that election or sixty days following any recount, contest or other judicial inquiry for any election, precinct or polling place that is the subject of the recount, contest or judicial inquiry. Thereafter, during the retention period and prior to destruction of the ballots or records, a third-party inspection not otherwise provided for in the Election Code shall be conducted for good cause shown and upon order of the district court. When a third-party inspection is ordered, a county clerk or the clerk's agent, the district judge or the court's designated agent and the state records administrator or the state records administrator's agent shall be present during the inspection to ensure that all ballots and records are properly catalogued and returned in proper order. An inspection of paper ballots marked by voters, their digitized equivalents or records related to voting shall be conducted in such a manner as to secure the secrecy of the ballot. Secrecy of the ballot includes redacting precinct-level information when any one party has fewer than five voters in any precinct at any one polling site.
E. A person, whether or not an officer, official or custodian, who willfully steals, destroys, conceals, mutilates or alters any record or paper required to be retained by this section is guilty of a misdemeanor for each record or paper that is stolen, destroyed, concealed, mutilated or altered. A person, whether or not an officer, official or custodian who willfully violates the secrecy of the ballot is guilty of a misdemeanor for each record or paper that is not properly redacted.
F. Paper ballots marked by voters or other records related to voting that exist in digitized form are not subject to the retention requirements of this section if there is a paper equivalent of that record retained during the retention period.
G. As used in this section, "records related to voting" means all records and papers in the possession of a county clerk relating to any voter application, voter registration or act by a voter or election board requisite to voting in an election."
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