HOUSE BILL 510
57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
John Block and Rebecca Dow
AN ACT
RELATING TO ELECTIONS; PROVIDING DUTIES OF BOARDS OF REGISTRATION; REQUIRING COUNTY CLERKS TO DEVELOP AND ADMINISTER EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR BOARDS OF REGISTRATION; REQUIRING INFORMATION RELATING TO THE CANCELLATION OF A VOTER'S REGISTRATION TO BE REPORTED TO BOARDS OF REGISTRATION; REQUIRING THE BOARDS OF REGISTRATION TO CERTIFY THE CANCELLATION OF ANY VOTER REGISTRATION; REQUIRING BOARDS OF REGISTRATION TO MEET QUARTERLY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 1, Article 4 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] BOARDS OF REGISTRATION--POWERS AND DUTIES.--The boards of registration shall:
A. meet no later than one month after nomination of the board's members;
B. choose a chair and a vice chair;
C. ensure that the county clerk is complying with the relevant sections of the Election Code;
D. verify the cancellation of deceased residents from voter lists as required pursuant to Chapter 1, Article 4 NMSA 1978;
E. maintain voter lists and certify that actions taken by a county clerk are accurate;
F. certify that address changes are accounted for in the voter lists using records from the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department; and
G. operate independently."
SECTION 2. A new section of Chapter 1, Article 4 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] REQUIRED EDUCATION.--County clerks shall develop and administer programs annually that inform the board of registration about the board's responsibility to maintain accurate voter lists."
SECTION 3. Section 1-4-25 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 81, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-4-25. CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION--DETERMINATION OF DEATH.--
A. For purposes of cancellation of registration, the death of a voter shall be ascertained by obituary notices or probate records or by comparison of registration records with monthly certified lists of deceased residents filed with the secretary of state.
B. The state registrar of vital statistics shall file monthly with the secretary of state certified lists of deceased residents over the age of eighteen years, sorted by county, regardless of the place of death.
C. The monthly certified list of deceased residents shall show the:
(1) name;
(2) age;
(3) sex;
(4) marital status;
(5) birth place;
(6) birth date;
(7) social security number, if any;
(8) address; and
(9) place and date of death of the deceased resident.
D. The secretary of state shall, upon receipt of the monthly certified list of deceased residents, forward each county's list to the county clerk and boards of registration.
E. The county clerk shall, upon receipt of the monthly certified list of deceased residents, cancel any deceased resident's certificate of registration and report these cancellations to boards of registration.
F. Upon receipt of a notarized document from the president or governor of an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo or from a tribal enrollment clerk indicating that a tribal member is deceased, the county clerk shall cancel the certification of registration of that deceased tribal member and report these cancellations to boards of registration."
SECTION 4. Section 1-4-28 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, Chapter 255, Section 46, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-4-28. CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION--CHANGE OF RESIDENCE--NOTICE.--
A. The secretary of state, county clerks and boards of registration, in compliance with the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993, shall remove from the official list of eligible voters the names of voters who are ineligible to vote due to change of residence.
B. The secretary of state shall conduct a general program that identifies voters who may no longer reside at their address of registration. This program shall use information supplied by the United States postal service national change of address service. This program may also include, among other practices, identification of voters whose official election-related mail is returned and periodic mailings to voters to verify continued residency at their address of registration, provided such practices are uniform, nondiscriminatory and in compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
C. Between ninety and one hundred twenty days before the next general election, the secretary of state shall send to each voter who it appears has changed address from the voter's precinct of registration a notice, sent by forwardable mail, that shall include a postage prepaid and pre-addressed return card. The notice shall state that:
(1) if the voter did not change residency, the voter should return the card no later than twenty-eight days before the next general election;
(2) if the voter does not return the card, the voter may be provided an opportunity to update the voter's registration address before the voter casts a ballot in any election during the period beginning on the date of the notice and ending on the day after the second general election that occurs after the date of the notice;
(3) if the voter does not vote in any election during the period beginning on the date of that notice and ending on the day after the second general election that occurs after the date of the notice, the voter's registration may be canceled; and
(4) if the voter has changed residence within the same county, the voter should complete the place on the return card for the voter to indicate the address of the new residence and a request to have the voter's registration moved to that address in the same county.
D. If the voter returned the card indicating a new address and the address is:
(1) in the same county, the county clerk shall correct the official list of eligible voters in accordance with the change of residence information obtained on the return card; or
(2) in another county, the county clerk shall forward the return card to the appropriate county clerk, who shall process the change of residence as a new registration in the county.
E. No later than the fifteenth day of March following a general election, the board of registration shall review the list of eligible voters. The board of registration shall direct the county clerk to cancel the registration and shall certify the cancellation of any voter who has been sent notice in conformance with this section and who:
(1) has failed to respond to the notice sent in conformance with this section and has not voted or appeared to vote in any election during the period beginning on the date of the notice and ending on the day after the second general election that occurs after the date of the notice; or
(2) has confirmed in writing that the voter has changed residence to a place outside the state."
SECTION 5. Section 1-4-38 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 94, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-4-38. BOARD OF REGISTRATION--MEETINGS.--
A. All meetings of the board of registration shall be open meetings held in accordance with the Open Meetings Act.
B. The board of registration shall meet quarterly.
[B.] C. All reports and other records of the board of registration shall be open to public inspection pursuant to the Inspection of Public Records Act.
[C.] D. A person's month and day of birth, and any part of a person's driver's license number or other identifier assigned by the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department, state or federal tax identification number or social security number shall not be disclosed in any meeting or in any record of the board of registration made available to the public. This subsection does not preclude disclosure of a person's unique identifier as defined in Section 1-1-23 NMSA 1978.
[D.] E. Members of the board of registration are entitled to receive per diem and mileage as provided in the Per Diem and Mileage Act, to be paid out of the election funds appropriated to the county clerk from the county general fund."
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