44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999

RELATING TO ELECTIONS; REQUIRING MINIMUM NUMBER OF DAYS DURING WHICH THE PUBLIC MAY INSPECT AN UPDATED ABSENTEE BALLOT REGISTER.

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

Section 1. Section 1-6-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 132, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-6-6. ABSENTEE BALLOT REGISTER.--

A. For each election, the county clerk shall keep an "absentee ballot register" in which he shall enter:

(1) the name and county address of each absentee ballot applicant;

(2) the date and time of receipt of the application;

(3) whether the application was accepted or rejected;

(4) the date of delivery or mailing of an absentee ballot to the applicant;

(5) the applicant's precinct;

(6) whether the applicant is a voter, a federal voter, a federal qualified elector or an overseas citizen voter; and

(7) the date and time the completed ballot was received from the applicant by the county clerk.

B. Within twenty-four hours after receipt of a voter's application for an absentee ballot, the county clerk shall mail either the ballot or notice of rejection.

C. The absentee ballot register is a public record open to public inspection in the county clerk's office during regular office hours. At a minimum, the county clerk shall have available for public inspection an updated absentee ballot register during regular business hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

D. The county clerk shall deliver to the absentee board on election day a complete list of all absentee ballot applicants with applicable information shown in the absentee ballot register for each applicant up to noon of the day preceding the election. The county clerk shall deliver a signature roster containing the same information as the lists to the absentee board.

E. The county clerk shall transmit to the secretary of state and to the county chairman of each of the major political parties in the county a complete copy of entries made in the absentee ballot register. Such transmissions shall be made once each week beginning four weeks immediately prior to the election. A final copy shall be transmitted on the Friday immediately following the election."

Section 2. Section 3-9-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 375, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:

"3-9-5. ABSENTEE BALLOT REGISTER.--

A. For each election, the municipal clerk shall keep an "absentee ballot register" in which he shall enter:

(1) in numerical sequence, the name and municipal address of each absentee ballot applicant;

(2) the date and time of receipt of the application;

(3) whether the application was accepted or rejected;

(4) the date of hand delivery or mailing of an absentee ballot to the applicant, the method of delivery and, if mailed, the address to which the ballot was mailed;

(5) the applicant's precinct;

(6) whether the applicant is a voter, a federal voter or a federal qualified elector;

(7) affidavits of voters who did not receive absentee ballots; and

(8) the date and time the completed ballot was received from the applicant by the municipal clerk.

B. The absentee ballot register is a public record open to public inspection in the municipal clerk's office during regular office hours and shall be preserved for two years after the date of the election. At a minimum, the municipal clerk shall have available for public inspection an updated absentee ballot register during regular business hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays."