HOUSE BILL 24

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005

INTRODUCED BY

Justine Fox-Young

AN ACT

RELATING TO ELECTIONS; PROVIDING PROCEDURES FOR COUNTING VOTING-MACHINE-REJECTED ABSENTEE BALLOTS.

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

     Section 1. A new section of the Election Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] HANDLING REJECTED ABSENTEE BALLOTS.--

          A. If an absentee ballot is damaged, defective or marked in a manner that results in its rejection by a voting machine, an absent voter precinct board member shall, in the presence of two challengers from different political parties, create a duplicate of the rejected ballot. The duplicate ballot shall be labeled with the serial number of the rejected ballot and then counted and tallied by the voting machine. The rejected ballot and its duplicate shall be handled in the same manner as emergency paper ballots.

          B. If there is a recount, a candidate may request that rejected ballots and their duplicates be rechecked for accuracy and then recounted."

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