HOUSE BILL 501
46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2004
INTRODUCED BY
Edward C. Sandoval
AN ACT
RELATING TO ELECTION REFORM; CHANGING THE EFFECTIVE DATE FOR MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING OF CAMPAIGN REPORTS TO 2004; ALLOWING POLLWATCHERS IN PRIMARY AND SPECIAL ELECTIONS; MODIFYING FILING REQUIREMENTS FOR CAMPAIGN REPORTS; CHANGING THE REPORTING FORMAT OF ELECTION RETURN DATA; ALLOWING EARLY PROCESSING OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS; REQUIRING NEW VOTING SYSTEMS AND TABULATORS TO BE CAPABLE OF REPORTING ELECTION RETURNS ELECTRONICALLY IN A STANDARD FORMAT AS WELL AS ON PAPER; ALLOWING COUNTY COMMISSIONS TO REQUEST SECRETARY OF STATE ASSISTANCE FOR CANVASSING ELECTION RETURNS; ESTABLISHING RECOUNT PROCEDURES FOR NON-CANDIDATE ELECTIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 1-2-27 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 46, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-2-27. WATCHERS--APPOINTMENT.--
A. The county chairman of each political party represented on the ballot may appoint in writing two watchers for each precinct. If any county chairman fails to make the appointments, the precinct chairman of the political party may appoint in writing two watchers for the precinct. If any precinct chairman fails to make the appointments, or if no person properly appointed is present at the polling place and offers to serve, the voters present belonging to that political party may appoint in writing two watchers.
B. [In a general election] A candidate for elected office and an election-related organization may appoint one watcher per polling place if the candidate or organization makes a written request to the secretary of state at least twenty days prior to the election date and specifies the polling place to be watched and the name of the qualified appointee. The secretary of state shall notify the county clerk of the qualified appointees at least ten days before the election. For the purposes of this section, "election-related organization" means a nonpartisan organization involved in voter turnout activities.
C. In a primary election any group of six candidates for county office for each political party participating in the election may appoint in writing an additional watcher for each precinct. No candidate, however, shall join in more than one request for an additional watcher.
D. In a primary election any group of three candidates seeking nomination for statewide or district office may appoint in writing one watcher for each of those precincts as they may desire. No candidate, however, shall join in more than one request for an additional watcher at any precinct."
Section 2. Section 1-6-5.4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999, Chapter 267, Section 3) is amended to read:
"1-6-5.4. SECURITY--COUNTING AND CANVASSING.--The secretary of state shall adopt rules for protecting the integrity, security and secrecy of the absentee ballots, including procedures specifying that machines and ballot containers remain locked and that ballots not be removed prior to election day; procedures for voting by absentee ballot; separation of absentee ballots voted on electronic voting machines twenty days before the election from those received through the mail; disposition of absentee ballots rejected by a voting machine; and handling of, registering, counting and canvassing of absentee ballots [and sorting of absentee ballots by representative district for canvassing purposes]."
Section 3. Section 1-6-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 136, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-6-10. RECEIPT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS BY CLERK.--
A. The county clerk shall mark on each completed official mailing envelope the date and time of receipt in the clerk's office, record this information in the absentee ballot register and safely keep the official mailing envelope unopened in a locked and number-sealed ballot box [except as provided in Subsection H of Section 1-6-14 NMSA 1978] until it is delivered [on election day] to the proper absent voter precinct board or until it is canceled and destroyed in accordance with law.
B. The county clerk shall accept completed official mailing envelopes until 7:00 p.m. on election day. Any completed official mailing envelope received after that time shall not be delivered to a precinct board but shall be preserved by the county clerk until the time for election contests has expired. In the absence of a restraining order after expiration of the time for election contests, the county clerk shall destroy all late official mailing envelopes without opening or permitting the contents to be examined, cast, counted or canvassed. Before their destruction, the county clerk shall count the numbers of late ballots from voters, federal voters, overseas citizen voters and federal qualified electors and report the number from each category to the secretary of state.
C. At 5:00 p.m. on the Monday immediately preceding the date of election, the county clerk shall record the numbers of the unused absentee ballots and shall publicly destroy in the county clerk's office all such unused ballots. The county clerk shall execute a certificate of destruction, which shall include the numbers on the absentee ballots destroyed. A copy of the certificate of destruction shall be sent to the secretary of state."
Section 4. Section 1-6-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 137, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-6-11. DELIVERY OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS TO ABSENT VOTER PRECINCTS.--
A. On the Thursday immediately preceding election day, the county clerk shall deliver to the special deputy county clerks for delivery to the absent voter precinct board the absentee ballots received prior to that day. The special deputy county clerk shall issue a receipt for all ballots delivered for the county clerk and shall observe the listing of the names on the official mailing envelopes in the signature rosters. The special deputy county clerk shall then obtain a receipt executed by the presiding judge and each election judge and shall return the receipt to the county clerk for filing. The receipts shall specify the number of envelopes received by the special deputy county clerk from the county clerk for the absent voter precinct and the number of envelopes received by the absent voter precinct board from the special deputy county clerk.
[A.] B. On election day, the county clerk shall deliver the absentee ballots received after the Wednesday immediately preceding election day, but prior to 7:00 p.m. on election day to the special deputy county clerks for delivery to the absent voter precinct boards. [The absentee ballots for each absent voter precinct shall be separately wrapped, and] The special deputy county clerk shall issue a receipt for all ballots delivered for the county clerk [Upon delivery of the absentee ballots to the absent voter precinct board, the special deputy county clerk shall remain in the polling place of the absent voter precinct until he has observed the opening of the official mailing envelope, the deposit of the ballot in the locked ballot box and the] and observe the listing of the names on the official mailing envelope in the signature rosters. [Upon such delivery of absentee ballots] The special deputy county clerk shall then obtain a receipt executed by the presiding judge and each election judge and [he] shall return [such] the receipt to the county clerk for filing. The receipts shall specify the number of envelopes received by the special deputy county clerk from the county clerk for each absent voter precinct and the number of envelopes received by the absent voter precinct board from the special deputy county clerk.
[B.] C. At 7:00 a.m. on election day, the county clerk shall deliver the electronic voting machines used for absentee voting to the absent voter precinct board. The machines shall not be used to vote on or count additional ballots for that election. A special deputy county clerk shall issue a receipt for each voting machine. Upon delivery of a voting machine, the special deputy shall obtain a receipt executed by the presiding judge and each election judge specifying the serial number and the seal number of the machine and shall verify the public counter number on the machine, and [he] shall return the receipt to the county clerk for filing."
Section 5. Section 1-6-14 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1971, Chapter 317, Section 11, as amended by Laws 2003, Chapter 354, Section 1 and by Laws 2003, Chapter 356, Section 22) is amended to read:
"1-6-14. HANDLING ABSENTEE BALLOTS BY ABSENT VOTER PRECINCT BOARDS.--
A. Before opening an official mailing envelope, the presiding judge and the election judges shall determine that the required information has been completed on the reverse side of the official mailing envelope.
B. If the voter's signature is missing, the presiding judge shall write "Rejected" on the front of the official mailing envelope. The election clerks shall enter the voter's name in the signature rosters and shall write the notation "Rejected--Missing Signature" in the "Notations" column of the signature rosters. The presiding judge shall place the official mailing envelope unopened in an envelope provided for rejected ballots, seal the envelope and write the voter's name on the front of the envelope and deposit it in the locked ballot box.
C. A lawfully appointed challenger may examine the official mailing envelope and may challenge the ballot of any absent voter for the following reasons:
(1) the official mailing envelope has been opened prior to being received by the absent voter precinct board; or
(2) the person offering to vote is not a federal voter, federal qualified elector, overseas voter or voter as provided in the Election Code.
Upon the challenge of an absentee ballot, the election judges and the presiding election judge shall follow the same procedure as when ballots are challenged when a person attempts to vote in person. If a challenge is upheld, the official mailing envelope shall not be opened but shall be placed in an envelope provided for challenged ballots. The same procedure shall be followed in canvassing and determining the validity of challenged absentee ballots as with other challenged ballots.
D. If the official mailing envelope has been properly subscribed and the voter has not been challenged:
[(1) the election judges shall open the official mailing envelope and deposit the ballot in its still-sealed official inner envelope in the locked ballot box; and
(2)] (1) the election clerks shall enter the absent voter's name and residence address as shown on the official mailing envelope in the signature rosters and shall mark the notation "AB" opposite the voter's name in the "Notations" column of the signature rosters; and
[E. Prior to the closing of the polls, the election judges and the presiding election judge may either remove the absentee ballots from the official inner envelopes and count and tally the results of absentee balloting or, under the personal supervision of the presiding election judge and one election judge from each major political party, count and tally the absentee ballots on an electronic voting machine the same as if the absent voters had been present and voted in person.] (2) under the personal supervision of the presiding election judge, the election judges shall open the official mailing envelope and the official inner envelope and insert the enclosed ballot into an electronic voting system to be registered and retained until votes are counted and canvassed following the closing of the polls on election night.
E. It is unlawful for a person to disclose the results of a count and tally or the registration on a voting machine of absentee ballots prior to the closing of the polls.
F. Absentee ballots shall be counted and tallied on an electronic voting machine as provided in the Election Code.
G. Absent voter precinct polls shall close at the time prescribed by the Election Code for other polling places, and the results of the election shall be certified as prescribed by the secretary of state.
[H. The county clerk may convene the absent voter precinct board no more than three days before the day of the election to alphabetize, enter on the roster and sort the absentee ballots by legislative district; provided that a member of the absent voter precinct board shall not open an official mailing envelope or count and canvass any absentee ballot prior to the day of the election.
I.] H. If an absentee ballot does not contain the identification required pursuant to Subsection D of Section 1-6-5 NMSA 1978, it shall be handled as a provisional paper ballot in accordance with the Election Code."
Section 6. Section 1-6-20 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 54, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-6-20. CREATION OF ABSENT VOTER PRECINCT.--
A. The board of county commissioners shall adopt a resolution creating, for absent voting purposes only, an absent voter precinct for each [state representative district in the county. The boundaries of such precinct shall coincide with the boundaries of the state representative district except for multicounty representative districts. In multicounty representative districts, the boundaries of the absent voter precinct in each county shall coincide with the boundaries of that portion of the representative district lying within the] county.
B. Absent voter precincts shall be identified by the name of the county [and the state representative district number. In the case of multicounty representative districts, the absent voter precinct in each county shall be distinguished by the name of the county]."
Section 7. Section 1-6-22 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 54, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-6-22. DESIGNATION OF ABSENT VOTER PRECINCT POLLING PLACE.--The board of county commissioners of each county shall designate a polling place in each absent voter precinct at the time such precinct is created [or consolidated]."
Section 8. Section 1-6-23 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, Chapter 255, Section 95, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-6-23. ABSENT VOTER PRECINCT POLLING PLACE--HOURS ON ELECTION DAY AND SUBSEQUENT DAYS.--The county clerk or statutorily appointed supervisor of the election shall determine the hours during which the absent voter precinct polling place shall be open for delivery and registration of ballots on the five days preceding election day and the delivery, registration and counting of ballots on election day and subsequent days until all ballots are counted."
Section 9. Section 1-9-4.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2001, Chapter 233, Section 15, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-9-4.1. TOUCH-SCREEN DIRECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS--STANDARDS.--
A. A touch-screen direct recording electronic voting system, as approved by the secretary of state, may be used in any election for public office in New Mexico. As used in this section, "system" means a touch-screen direct recording electronic voting system.
B. The system shall:
(1) meet federal election performance and test standards;
(2) provide for direct recording and tabulating of votes cast;
(3) have internal application software that:
(a) is specifically designed and engineered for the election application;
(b) is contained within each touch-screen voting device;
(c) is stored in a nonvolatile memory within each terminal;
(d) includes internal quality checks such as purity or error detection and correction codes; and
(e) includes comprehensive diagnostics to ensure that failures do not go undetected;
(4) have a battery backup that will, at a minimum, allow voting to continue uninterrupted for two hours without external power;
(5) have internal audit trail capability such that all pre-election, election day and post-election events, including all random ballot image anomalies, shall be stored, recorded and recovered in an easy-to-read printed form and be retained within at least three independent memories that do not require any type of external alternating current or direct current battery power for memory retention;
(6) along with any and all activating and vote recording devices and components, have a unique embedded internal serial number for audit purposes;
(7) be a stand-alone, non-networked election system such that all pre-election, election day and post-election events and activities, including any and all entered votes, are directly entered, recorded and retained in each device in multiple memory locations within the device;
(8) for security purposes, along with each associated activating and recording device and component, employ a unique, electronically implanted election specific internal security code such that the absence of such code prevents substitution of any unauthorized system or related component;
(9) be designed to accept challenged or fail-safe ballots and allow voters to choose their ballot language directly on the system;
(10) be designed to accommodate the maximum number of ballot styles or ballot variations encountered in the largest New Mexico election jurisdiction;
(11) employ scalable technology allowing easy enhancements that meet federal election standards and can take advantage of new election technology such as larger touch-screens, optional touch-screen types, expandable memory, modem transmission of election results, ballot activation from automated voter registration and internet communication capabilities;
(12) have electronic components mounted on printed circuit boards and subsistence, such as printer, power sources, microprocessor, switch and indicator matrices modular and luggable;
(13) have a realtime clock capable of recording and documenting the total time polls are open in a precinct and capable of documenting the opening and closing of polls;
(14) prevent any voter from selecting more than the allowable number of candidates for any office to prevent overvoting, be able to alert the voter on a message screen if the voter attempts to overvote and inform the voter of any necessary corrective action;
(15) present the entire ballot to the voter in a series of sequential pages that include methods to ensure the voter sees all ballot options on all pages before completing his vote and allow the voter to review all ballot choices before casting his ballot;
(16) have as an integral part of the system a privacy curtain within which the voter casts his vote;
(17) have a color touch-screen that is at least fifteen inches in diagonal measure; and
(18) be able to accommodate a wheelchair voter without intervention of the poll worker other than a minor adjustment such as the angle of the display, and the voter must be able to vote in a face-first position so that privacy is maintained with the ballot surface adjusted to a vertical position.
C. If the net weight of the system, or aggregate of voting device parts, is over twenty pounds, the system shall have self-contained wheels so that the system can be easily rolled by one person on rough pavement and can roll through a standard thirty-inch door frame.
D. The device that is used by a poll worker to activate the system for each individual voter shall be a credit-card size "smart card" type of device. The poll worker shall be able to activate the card at the poll table with an activation device and hand the card to the voter to use on any open voting system. The card shall be rendered unusable by the voting system after the voter has cast a ballot. The system must be compatible with the voter registration system so that the precinct and party information for a specific voter can be transferred to the system automatically and transferred to the smart card without poll-worker data entry. There shall be a manual solution available in the event the smart card activation device, or the smart card reading unit on the machine, fails.
E. Each system shall be able to print an alphanumeric printout of the contest, candidates, position numbers and vote totals when the polls are open so that the poll workers can verify that the counters for each candidate are on zero. At the close of the polls, the system shall be able to print out in the same format the results of the election. These printouts shall contain the system serial number, public counter total and protective counter number. The poll worker must be able to request as many copies as necessary by state law. The system shall include a feature to allow reports to be sent to a printer, the screen and a file.
F. The system central processing unit shall be designed so that no executable code can be launched from random access memory. If the operating system is open or widely used, it shall be an embedded system.
G. The system shall have a mandatory pre-election testing of the ballot control logic and accuracy. The logic and accuracy test results must be stored into the memory of the main processor (central processing unit) and into the same programmable memory device that is used on election day for future reference. This should be stored by vote total summaries and by each individual ballot image randomly. The system must be capable of printing a zero-results printout prior to these tests and a results printout after the test.
H. The system shall provide an electronic, redundant storage of both the vote totals and the randomized individual ballot images.
I. The system shall allow a comparison of the multiple locations of totals and ballot images to detect any errors or discrepancies. In the event of a data discrepancy, an appropriate error message shall be displayed in a text format, in order to either correct the data error or prohibit voting from continuing.
J. The system shall have a programmable memory device that plugs into the system. The programmable memory device shall contain ballot control information, summary vote totals, maintenance log, operator log and randomized ballot images.
K. The system shall maintain all vote totals, public counter totals, audit trail ballot images, protective counter totals and the internal clock time in both the main memory and the removable programmable memory devices in the event the main power and battery backup power fail.
L. The system shall have a self-contained, internal backup battery that powers all components of the system that are powered by alternating current power. In the event of a power outage in the precinct, the self-contained, internal backup battery power shall engage with no disruption of operation or loss of data. The system shall maintain all vote totals, public counter totals, audit trail ballot images, protective counter totals and the internal clock time in both the main memory and the removable programmable memory devices in the event the main power and battery backup power fail.
M. The system software shall be able to:
(1) run in a networked or stand-alone environment;
(2) support absentee in-person voting;
(3) collect and keep separate the absentee in-person vote totals by day collected, by machine [by legislative district] and by site; and
(4) collect statistical data such as turnout so that it is available by date and site."
Section 10. Section 1-9-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1985, Chapter 207, Section 15, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-9-16. ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS--VOTE TABULATING SYSTEMS--STANDARDS.--
A. Electronic vote tabulating systems, as tested and approved by the secretary of state pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-9-14 NMSA 1978, may be used in any election for public office in New Mexico for the purpose of tabulating ballots.
B. The electronic vote tabulating system shall meet the following standards:
(1) the machine shall be an electronic computer-controlled voting system that provides for the direct electronic tabulation of votes cast;
(2) the operating software of the vote tabulating system shall be stored in nonvolatile memory and shall include internal quality checks such as parity or error detection and correction codes. The software shall include comprehensive diagnostics to ensure that failures do not go undetected;
(3) the system shall have a battery backup that will, as a minimum, retain voter information and be capable of retaining and restoring processor operating parameters in the event of power failures;
(4) the system shall provide alphanumeric printouts of the vote totals by [legislative district] precinct at the closing of the polls;
(5) the system shall have, as a standard or as an option, software and hardware provisions for remote transmission of election results to a central location;
(6) subsistence, such as printer, power sources, microprocessor, switch and indicator matrices, shall be modular and luggable. Electronic components shall be mounted on printed circuit boards;
(7) the system shall be supplied with a dust- and moisture-proof cover for transportation and storage purposes;
(8) the system shall be able to operate in a temperature range of fifty degrees Fahrenheit to ninety degrees Fahrenheit;
(9) the system shall have a temperature range for storage of zero degrees Fahrenheit to one hundred twenty degrees Fahrenheit;
(10) the system shall have an operating and storage humidity of thirty percent to eighty percent noncondensing;
(11) the system shall accept a line voltage of 115 VAC +- fifteen percent, 60 HZ;
(12) the system memory pack shall be able to accept over one thousand five hundred voting positions and tabulate over sixty-five thousand votes for each position;
(13) the system shall accept a ballot inserted in any orientation and one that is a minimum six inches wide and a maximum twenty-four inches long, in dual columns and printed on both sides. The ballot shall be able to hold a maximum of five hundred twenty candidate positions;
(14) the system shall recognize all errors and be able to reject or return a ballot that contains an error. The tabulator shall automatically be able to detect an overvoted ballot;
(15) the system shall contain an RS-232 data communications capability to transmit totals;
(16) the system shall contain a public display counter to record the number of ballots processed; and
(17) the system should be programmable with control cards.
C. In determining compliance with the standards set forth in Subsection B of this section, the qualification test report made pursuant to the performance and test standards of federal election law shall be considered insofar as it is applicable."
Section 11. Section 1-14-14 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 343, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-14-14. RECOUNTS--RECHECKS--APPLICATION.--
A. Whenever any candidate for any office for which the state canvassing board or county canvassing board issues a certificate of nomination or election believes that any error or fraud has been committed by any precinct board in counting or tallying the emergency paper ballots, provisional paper ballots or absentee ballots, in the verification of the votes cast on the voting machines or in the certifying of the results of any election whereby the results of the election in the precinct have not been correctly determined, declared or certified, the candidate, within six days after completion of the canvass by the proper canvassing board, may have a recount of the emergency paper ballots, provisional paper ballots or absentee ballots, or a recheck of the votes shown on the voting machines, that were cast in the precinct.
B. The county canvassing board shall recount the emergency paper ballots, provisional paper ballots or absentee ballots, or recheck the votes recorded on the voting machines, if, within six days of completion of the county canvass, the district court of the county receives a written petition from at least twenty-five voters of the county requesting a recount or recheck of the results in an election on a ballot question.
[B.] C. In the case of any office for which the state canvassing board issues a certificate of nomination or election, application for recount or recheck shall be filed with the secretary of state.
[C.] D. In the case of any office for which the county canvassing board issues a certificate of nomination or election, application for recount or recheck shall be filed with the district judge for the county in which the applicant resides.
E. In the case of an election on a ballot question, the petition for recount or recheck shall be filed with the district judge for the county in which the petitioners reside."
Section 12. Section 1-14-17 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 346, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-14-17. RECOUNT AND RECHECK PROCEEDINGS--COUNTY.--
A. Immediately upon filing of the application or petition for recount or recheck, the district judge shall by order fix the place and date of the recount or recheck, which date shall not be more than ten days after the filing of the application or petition. Such order of the district judge shall direct the county clerk to issue a summons to the precinct board of the precinct complained of. It shall command them to attend at the time and place specified therein and to make such recount or recheck.
B. The summons shall be forthwith personally served by the sheriff upon each precinct board member.
C. The county clerk shall notify the county chairman of each political party that participated in the election in that precinct of the date and place fixed for the recount or recheck. The notice shall be by registered mail.
D. The precinct board, district judge and county clerk shall meet at the county courthouse at 10:00 a.m. on the date set.
E. The ballot boxes or voting machines of the precincts involved in the recount or recheck shall be unlocked, and the precinct board shall recount and retally the emergency paper ballots, provisional paper ballots and absentee ballots, or recheck the votes cast on the voting machine, for the office in question or the ballot question in the presence of the district judge, or person designated to act for him, the county clerk and any other person who desires to be present.
F. At the recount, the precinct board of a precinct using emergency paper ballots, provisional paper ballots or absentee ballots shall recount and retally only the ballots [which] that the presiding judge accepted and placed in the ballot box as legal ballots at the time they were cast.
G. After completion of the recount or recheck, the emergency paper ballots, provisional paper ballots or absentee ballots shall be placed in the ballot box and locked, or the voting machines shall be locked and resealed, and the precinct board shall certify to the county canvassing board the results of the recount or recheck. The district judge and county clerk shall certify that such recount or recheck was made in their presence."
Section 13. Section 1-14-18 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 347, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-14-18. RECOUNT--RECHECK--RECANVASS BY CANVASSING BOARDS.--
A. Immediately upon receipt of the certificate of recount or recheck from all the precinct boards making a recount or recheck, the proper canvassing board shall meet and recanvass the returns for the office in question or the ballot question.
B. In making the recanvass, the proper canvassing board shall be bound by the certificates of recount or recheck from the precinct boards instead of the original returns from those precinct boards.
C. After the recanvass, if it appears that fraud or error has been committed sufficient to change the winner of the election, then the proper canvassing board shall revoke the certificate of nomination or election already issued to any person for that office and shall issue a certificate of nomination or election in favor of the person receiving a plurality of the votes cast at the election as shown by the recount or recheck, and such certificate shall supersede all others and entitle the holder to the same rights and [privileges] privileges as if such certificate had been originally issued by the canvassing board.
D. After the recanvass, if it appears that fraud or error has been committed sufficient to change the results of the election in the case of a ballot question, then the state canvassing board shall revoke the declaration already issued on that ballot question and declare the results of the election as shown by the recount or recheck, and the declaration of results shall supersede all others as if the declaration has been originally issued by the canvassing board."
Section 14. Section 1-19-31 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1979, Chapter 360, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:
"1-19-31. CONTENTS OF REPORT.--
A. Each required report of expenditures and contributions shall be typed or printed legibly, or on a computer disc or format approved by the secretary of state, and shall include:
(1) the name and address of the person or entity to whom an expenditure was made or from whom a contribution was received, except as provided for anonymous contributions or contributions received from special events as provided in Section 1-19-34 NMSA 1978; provided that for contributors, the name of the entity or the first and last names of any individual shall be the full name of the entity or individual, and initials only shall not constitute a full name unless that is the complete legal name;
(2) the name, address, type of business or occupation of the person or entity to whom an expenditure was made for the purpose of having the person or entity promote a political purpose for a candidate and the type of expenditure made by that person or entity on behalf of the candidate;
[(2)] (3) the occupation or type of business of any person or entity making contributions of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or more in the aggregate per election;
[(3)] (4) the amount of the expenditure or contribution or value thereof;
[(4)] (5) the purpose of the expenditure; and
[(5)] (6) the date the expenditure was made or the contribution was received.
B. The report of expenditures and contributions shall be subscribed and sworn to by the candidate or the treasurer of the political committee. If the report of expenditures and contributions is filed in an electronically readable format, the report shall be subscribed and sworn to in an independent affidavit signed by the candidate or the treasurer of the political committee and delivered to the secretary of state within forty-eight hours after the report is electronically filed.
C. Each report shall contain an opening and closing cash balance for the bank account maintained by the reporting individual during the reporting period and the name of the financial institution.
D. Each report shall specify the amount of each unpaid debt and the identity of the person to whom the debt is owed."
Section 15. A new section of the Election Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] POST-ELECTION DUTIES--COUNTY CANVASSING BOARD REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE.--The county canvassing board may request the secretary of state to provide assistance in conducting the county canvass if, in the opinion of the board, the county clerk is unable to complete the canvass in a timely fashion."
Section 16. A new section of the Election Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS--STANDARDIZED REPORTING FORMAT.--All electronic voting systems and vote tabulating systems approved for use in New Mexico that are purchased after May 20, 2004 shall be capable of remote transmission of election results to a central location in a format to be determined by the secretary of state."
Section 17. Laws 2003, Chapter 66, Section 5 is amended to read:
"Section 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of Sections 2 and 3 of [this act] Laws 2003, Chapter 66 is [January 1, 2006] January 1, 2005."
Section 18. REPEAL.--Section 1-6-21 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, Chapter 255, Section 93, as amended) is repealed.
Section 19. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is May 20, 2004.
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