AN ACT

RELATING TO ELECTIONS; ESTABLISHING NOMINATING PETITION PROCEDURES, WRITE-IN CANDIDACY PROCEDURES AND OTHER ELECTION PROCEDURES FOR THE PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE ELECTION CODE; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

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

Section 1. Section 1-8-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 152, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-8-2. NOMINATION BY MINOR POLITICAL PARTY--CONVENTION-DESIGNATED NOMINEES.--

A. If the rules and regulations of a minor political party require nomination by political convention:

(1) the chairman and secretary of the state political convention shall certify to the secretary of state the names of their party's nominees for United States senator, United States representative, all elective state offices, legislative offices elected from multicounty districts, public regulation commission, all elective judicial officers in the judicial department and all offices representing a district composed of more than one county; and

(2) the chairman and secretary of the county political convention shall certify to the county clerk the names of their party's nominees for elected county offices and for legislative offices elected from a district located wholly within one county or that is composed of only one county.

B. The names certified to the secretary of state shall be filed on the second Tuesday in July in the year of the general election and shall be accompanied by a petition containing a list of signatures and addresses of voters totaling not less than one percent of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general election for the office of governor or president of the United States, as the case may be:

(1) in the state for statewide offices; and

(2) in the district for offices other than statewide offices.

The petition shall contain a statement that the voters signing the petition are residents of the state, district, county or area to be represented by the office for which the person being nominated is a candidate.

C. The names certified to the county clerk shall be filed on the second Tuesday in July in the year of the general election and shall be accompanied by a petition containing a list of signatures and addresses of voters totaling not less than one percent of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general election for the office of governor or president of the United States, as the case may be:

(1) in the county for countywide offices; and

(2) in the district for offices other than countywide offices.

D. Persons certified as nominees shall be members of that party before the day the governor issues the primary election proclamation.

E. No voter shall sign any petition prescribed by this section for more persons than the number of minor party candidates necessary to fill the office at the next ensuing general election."

Section 2. Section 1-8-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 153, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-8-3. NOMINATION BY MINOR POLITICAL PARTY--OTHER METHODS.--If the rules and regulations of a minor political party require nomination by a method other than a political convention:

A. the state chairman and the governing board of the state party shall certify to the secretary of state the names of their party's nominees for United States senator, United States representative, all elective state offices, legislative offices elected from multicounty districts, public regulation commission, all elective judicial officers in the judicial department and all offices representing a district composed of more than one county;

B. the county chairman and the governing board of the county party shall certify to the county clerk the names of their party's nominees for elected county offices and for legislative offices elected from a district located wholly within one county or that is composed of only one county; and

C. the names of such nominees shall be filed in the same time and manner prescribed by the Election Code for convention-designated nominees of minor political parties, and each list of names certified shall be accompanied by the petition containing a list of signatures and addresses of voters as prescribed for convention-designated nominees."

Section 3. Section 1-8-13 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 162, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-8-13. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--CONTENTS OF

PROCLAMATION.--The proclamation calling a primary election shall contain:

A. the names of the major political parties participating in the primary election;

B. the offices for which each political party shall nominate candidates; provided that if any law is enacted by the legislature in the year in which the primary election is held and the law does not take effect until after the date of the proclamation but prior to the date of the primary election, the proclamation shall conform to the intent of the law with respect to the offices for which each political party shall nominate candidates;

C. the date on which declarations of candidacy and nominating petitions for United States representative, any office voted upon by all the voters of the state, a legislative office, the office of district judge, district attorney, state board of education, public regulation commission or magistrate shall be filed and the places where they shall be filed in order to have the candidates' names printed on the official ballot of their party at the primary election;

D. the date on and place at which declarations of candidacy shall be filed for any other office and filing fees paid or, in lieu thereof, a pauper's statement of inability to pay;

E. the date on and place at which declarations of intent to be a write-in candidate for a statewide office or office of United States representative shall be filed;

F. the date on and place at which declarations of intent to be a write-in candidate for any other office shall be filed;

G. the final date on and place at which candidates for the office of United States representative and for any statewide office seeking preprimary convention designation by the major parties shall file petitions and declarations of candidacy;

H. the final date on which the major political parties shall hold state preprimary conventions for the designation of candidates; and

I. the final date on and place at which certificates of designation of primary election candidates shall be filed by political parties with the secretary of state.

As used in the Primary Election Law, "statewide office" means any office voted on by all the voters of the state."

Section 4. Section 1-8-25 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 170, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-8-25. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY--PROPER FILING OFFICER.--The proper filing officer for filing declarations of candidacy is:

A. the secretary of state for the offices of:

(1) United States senator;

(2) United States representative;

(3) all state elective offices;

(4) legislative offices elected from multicounty districts;

(5) all public regulation commission districts;

(6) all elective judicial offices in the judicial department, except magistrates; and

(7) all offices representing a district composed of more than one county; and

B. the county clerk for the offices of:

(1) all elective county offices;

(2) magistrates; and

(3) legislative offices elected from a district located wholly within one county or that is composed of only one county."

Section 5. Section 1-8-33 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 228, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-8-33. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--NOMINATING PETITION-- NUMBER OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED.--

A. As used in this section, "total vote" means the sum of all votes cast for all of the party's candidates for governor at the last preceding primary election at which the party's candidate for governor was nominated.

B. Candidates who seek preprimary convention designation shall file nominating petitions at the time of filing declarations of candidacy. Nominating petitions for those candidates shall be signed by a number of voters equal to at least two percent of the total vote of the candidate's party in the state or congressional district, or the following number of voters, whichever is greater: for statewide offices, two hundred thirty voters; and for congressional candidates, seventy-seven voters.

C. Nominating petitions for candidates for any other office to be voted on at the primary election for which nominating petitions are required shall be signed by a number of voters equal to at least three percent of the total vote of the candidate's party in the district or division, or the following number of voters, whichever is greater: for metropolitan court and magistrate courts, ten voters; for the public regulation commission, fifty voters; for the state board of education, twenty-five voters; for state representative, ten voters; for state senator, seventeen voters; and for district attorney and district judge, fifteen voters.

D. A candidate who fails to receive the preprimary convention designation that he sought may collect additional signatures to total at least four percent of the total vote of the candidate's party in the state or congressional district, whichever applies to the office he seeks, and file a new declaration of candidacy and nominating petitions for the office for which he failed to receive a preprimary designation. The declaration of candidacy and nominating petitions shall be filed with the secretary of state either ten days following the date of the preprimary convention at which he failed to receive the designation or on the date all declarations of candidacy and nominating petitions are due pursuant to the provisions of the Primary Election Law, whichever is later."

Section 6. Section 1-8-36.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 156, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-8-36.1. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--WRITE-IN CANDIDATES.--

A. Write-in candidates are permitted in the primary election only for the offices of United States representative, members of the legislature, district judges, district attorneys, public regulation commission, state board of education, magistrates and any office voted upon by all voters of the state.

B. A person may be a write-in candidate only for nomination by the major political party with which he is affiliated as shown by his certificate of registration, and such person shall have the qualifications to be a candidate in the primary election for the political party for which he is a write-in candidate.

C. A person desiring to be a write-in candidate for one of the offices listed in Subsection A of this section in the primary election shall file with the proper filing officer a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate. Such declaration of intent shall be filed before 5:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday in March.

D. A write-in vote shall be counted and canvassed only if:

(1) the name written in is the name of a declared write-in candidate and shows two initials and last name; first name, middle initial or name and last name; first and last name; or the full name as it appears on the declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate and misspellings of the above combinations that can be reasonably determined by a majority of the members of the precinct board to identify a declared write-in candidate; and

(2) the name is written in the proper slot on the voting machine or on the proper line provided on an absentee ballot or emergency paper ballot for write-in votes for the office for which the candidate has filed a declaration of intent.

E. At the time of filing the declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, the write-in candidate shall be considered a candidate for all purposes and provisions relating to candidates in the Election Code, including the obligations to report pursuant to the Campaign Reporting Act, except that he shall not be entitled to have his name printed on the ballot.

F. No unopposed write-in candidate shall have his nomination certified unless he receives at least the number of write-in votes in the primary election as he would need signatures on a nominating petition pursuant to the requirements set out in Section 1-8-33 NMSA 1978.

G. A write-in vote shall be cast by writing in the name. As used in this section, "write-in" does not include the imprinting of any name by rubber stamp or similar device or the use of preprinted stickers or labels."

Section 7. Section 1-8-48 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, Chapter 322, Section 4, as amended by Laws 1993, Chapter 314, Section 50 and also by Laws 1993, Chapter 316, Section 50) is amended to read:

"1-8-48. INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES FOR GENERAL OR UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE SPECIAL ELECTIONS--DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY AND NOMINATING PETITION.--

A. Nomination as an independent candidate shall be made by filing a declaration of independent candidacy and a nominating petition with the proper filing officer.

B. In making a declaration of independent candidacy, the candidate for an office other than that of president or vice president shall submit a sworn statement in the following form:

"DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY

I, _________________________ (candidate's name on certificate of registration) being first duly sworn, say that I reside at _______________________________ in the county of ____________________, New Mexico, and that I am a voter of Precinct No. __________ of the county of _______________, State of New Mexico;

I have declined to designate my party affiliation as shown by my certificate of registration and I have not changed such declination subsequent to the date of issuance of the governor's proclamation for the primary election in the year of the general election at which I seek to be a candidate;

I desire to become a candidate for the office of _________________________, District____________ at the general 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 public regulation commission, that I actually reside within the district for which I declare my candidacy;

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 Election Code; and

I make the foregoing affidavit under oath or affirmation 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 or affirmed before me this _____ day of _______________, _____.

(month) (year)

_________________________

(Notary Public)

My commission expires:

______________________________".

C. The secretary of state shall prescribe and furnish the form for the declaration of independent candidacy for the office of president and vice president."

Section 8. Section 1-8-51 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, Chapter 322, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-8-51. INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES FOR GENERAL OR UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE SPECIAL ELECTIONS--NOMINATING PETITIONS--REQUIRED NUMBER OF SIGNATURES.--

A. The basis of percentage for the total number of votes cast in each instance referred to in this section shall be the total vote cast for governor at the last preceding general election at which a governor was elected.

B. Nominating petitions for an independent candidate for president of the United States shall be signed by a number of voters equal to at least three percent of the total number of votes cast in the state.

C. Nominating petitions for an independent candidate for United States senator or any other statewide elective office shall be signed by a number of voters equal to at least three percent of the total number of votes cast in the state.

D. Nominating petitions for an independent candidate for United States representative shall be signed by a number of voters equal to at least three percent of the total number of votes cast in the district.

E. Nominating petitions for an independent candidate for a member of the legislature, public regulation commission, district judge, district attorney, member of the state board of education, magistrate or county office shall be signed by a number of voters equal to at least three percent of the total number of votes cast in the district, division or county, as the case may be.

F. A voter shall not sign a petition for an independent candidate as provided in this section if he has signed a petition for another independent candidate for the same office."

Section 9. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately.

HB 425

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