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

RELATING TO ELECTIONS; ALLOWING A POLITICAL PARTY TO NOMINATE ANY QUALIFIED CANDIDATE TO RUN UNDER ITS PARTY NAME IN AN ELECTION; ALLOWING A CANDIDATE'S NAME TO APPEAR MORE THAN ONCE ON A BALLOT; REPEALING SECTION 1-8-19 NMSA 1978 (BEING LAWS 1975, CHAPTER 255, SECTION 106, AS AMENDED).

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

Section 1. Section 1-4-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 72, as amended by Laws 1993, Chapter 314, Section 15 and also by Laws 1993, Chapter 316, Section 15) is amended to read:

"1-4-16. REGISTRATION--WHEN PARTY AFFILIATION SHALL NOT BE MADE.--[A.] No designation of party affiliation shall be made or changed on an existing certificate of registration at any time during which registration is closed.

[B. Every person appearing as a candidate on the primary or general election ballot shall be a candidate only under the name and party affiliation designation appearing on his existing certificate of registration on file in the county clerk's office on the date of the governor's proclamation of a primary election.]"

Section 2. 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, the 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.

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.

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

E.] D. 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 3. Section 1-8-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 158, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-8-8. VACANCY ON GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT--OCCURRING AFTER PRIMARY.--

A. If after a primary election a vacancy occurs, for any cause, in the list of nominees of a qualified political party for any public office to be filled in the general election, or a vacancy occurs because of the resignation or death of a person holding a public office not included in the governor's proclamation and which office is required by law to be filled at the next succeeding general election, the vacancy on the general election ballot may be filled by:

(1) the central committee of the state political party filing the name of its nominee for the office with the proper filing officer when [such] the office is a federal, state, district or multicounty legislative district office; and

(2) the central committee of the county political party filing the name of its nominee for the office with the proper filing officer when [such] the office is a magistrate, county or a legislative district office where the district is entirely within the boundaries of a single county.

B. Appointments made pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall [be of the same party affiliation as the original nominee and] reside in the district from which he will be elected as shown by his certificate of registration on file in the county clerk's office before the day of the governor's primary election proclamation.

C. Appointments to fill vacancies in the list of a party's nominees shall be made and filed at least fifty-six days prior to the general election. If the vacancy is caused by the death of a nominee, the central committee may in like manner file the name of its nominee to fill the vacancy up until five days prior to the general election.

D. When the name of a nominee is filed as provided in this section, [such] the name shall be placed on the general election ballot as the party's candidate for that office. In the case of a nominee appointed after the general election ballots are printed, [such] the name shall be placed on the ballot by pasting the printed name of the nominee over the name of the candidate whose vacancy he fills on the general election ballot."

Section 4. Section 1-8-18 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 167, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-8-18. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--WHO MAY BECOME A CANDIDATE.--

A. No person shall become a candidate for nomination by a political party or have his name printed on the primary election ballot unless his record of voter registration shows

[(1) his affiliation with that political party on the date of the governor's proclamation for the primary election; and

(2)] his residence in the district of the office for which he is a candidate on the date of the governor's proclamation for the primary election or in the case of a person seeking the office of United States senator or United States representative, his residence within New Mexico on the date of the governor's proclamation for the primary election.

B. Any voter may challenge the candidacy of any person seeking nomination by a political party for the reason that he does not meet the residency requirements [of Subsection A] of this section by filing a petition in the district court within ten days after the last day for filing a declaration of candidacy or a statement of candidacy for convention designation. The district court shall hear and render a decision on the matter within ten days after the filing of the petition. The decision of the district court may be appealed to the supreme court within five days after the decision is rendered. The supreme court shall hear and render a decision on the appeal forthwith."

Section 5. Section 1-8-21.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 55, Section 11) is amended to read:

"1-8-21.1. DESIGNATION OF CANDIDATES BY CONVENTION.--

A. State conventions of major political parties may designate candidates for nomination to statewide office or the office of United States representative.

B. No state convention for designating candidates shall be held later than the third Sunday in March preceding the primary election, and delegates to the convention shall be elected according to state party rules filed in the office of the secretary of state.

C. The state convention shall take only one ballot upon candidates for each office to be filled. Every candidate receiving twenty percent or more of the votes of the duly elected delegates to the convention for the office to be voted upon at the ensuing primary election shall be certified to the secretary of state as a convention-designated nominee for that office by the political party. Certification shall take place no later than 5:00 p.m. on the first Tuesday succeeding the state convention.

D. The certificate of designation submitted to the secretary of state shall state the name of the office for which each person is a candidate, his name and address and the name of the political party that the candidate represents [and shall certify that the candidate has been a member of that political party for the period of time required by the Election Code]."

Section 6. Section 1-8-27 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 172, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-8-27. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY--MANNER OF FILING.--Each declaration of candidacy, by nominating petition or by preprimary convention designation, shall be delivered for filing in person by the candidate therein named or by a person acting, by virtue of written authorization, solely on the candidate's behalf. [The proper filing officer shall not accept for filing more than one declaration of candidacy from any one individual, except that candidates who seek but fail to receive preprimary convention designation shall file a declaration of candidacy by nomination, according to provisions of the Primary Election Law, to have their names placed on the primary election

ballot.]"

Section 7. Section 1-8-30 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 228, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-8-30. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY--NOMINATING PETITION--FILING AND FORM.--

A. As used in the Primary Election Law, "nominating petition" means the authorized form used for obtaining the required number of signatures of voters, which is signed on behalf of the person wishing to become a candidate for a political office in the primary election requiring a nominating petition.

B. In making a declaration of candidacy, the candidate at the same time shall file a nominating petition, which shall be on forms prescribed by law.

C. The nominating petition shall be on paper approximately eight and one-half inches wide and fourteen inches long with numbered lines for signatures spaced approximately three-eighths of an inch apart and shall be in the following form:

"NOMINATING PETITION

I, the undersigned, a registered voter of the county of _______________, New Mexico, and a member of the _______________ party, hereby nominate ____________________, who resides at __________________ in the county of ______________, New Mexico, for the ______________ party nomination for the office of _______________, to be voted for at the primary election to be held on the first Tuesday of June, [19] 20 _____, and I declare that I am a resident of the state, district, county or area to be represented by the office for which the person being nominated is a candidate. I also declare that I have not signed, and will not sign, any nominating petition for more persons than the number of candidates necessary to fill such office at the next ensuing general election.

1. _____________ _______________ ______________ __________

(usual (name printed (address as (city or

signature) as registered) registered) rt. no.)

2. _____________ _______________ ______________ __________

(usual (name printed (address as (city or

signature) as registered) registered) rt. no.).".

D. In October of odd-numbered years, the secretary of state shall furnish to each county clerk a sample of a nominating petition form, a copy of which shall be made available by the county clerk upon request of any candidate.

E. The signature of the voter shall not be counted unless the voter was a registered member of the [candidate's] party whose nomination the candidate is seeking ten days prior to the filing of the nominating petition. The signature of the voter shall not be counted unless the entire line indicates the voter's usual signature, his name printed as registered and his address as registered and his city or route number and is upon the form furnished by the secretary of state to the county clerks or a duplicate thereof.

F. When more than one sheet is required for a petition, each of the sheets shall be in the form prescribed by this section and all sheets shall be firmly secured by a staple or other suitable fastening."

Section 8. Section 1-8-31 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 228, Section 5, as amended by Laws 1993, Chapter 314, Section 47 and also by Laws 1993, Chapter 316, Section 47) is amended to read:

"1-8-31. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--NOMINATING PETITION--SIGNATURES TO BE COUNTED.--

A. Each signer of a nominating petition shall sign but one petition for the same office unless more than one candidate is to be elected to such office, and in that case not more than the number of nominating petitions equal to the number of candidates to be elected to the office shall be signed.

B. A signature shall be counted on a nominating petition unless there is evidence presented that the person signing:

(1) is not a voter of the state, district, county or area to be represented by the office for which the person seeking the nomination is a candidate;

(2) has signed more than one petition for the same office, except as provided in Subsection A of this section, or has signed one petition more than once;

(3) is not of the same political party as the [candidate] party named in the nominating petition as shown by the signer's certificate of registration; or

(4) is not the person whose name appears on the nominating petition.

C. The procedures set forth in this section shall be used to validate signatures on any petition required by the Election Code."

Section 9. 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 whose nomination the candidate is seeking 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 whose nomination the candidate is seeking 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 whose nomination the candidate is seeking 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 10. Section 1-10-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, Chapter 222, Section 30, as amended) is amended to read:

"1-10-7. BALLOTS--NAME SHALL APPEAR BUT ONCE-- EXCEPTIONS.--Except in the case of a candidate for United States senate or United States representative who is also a candidate for president or vice president of the United States, or a candidate who has been nominated for an elective office by more than one political party, no candidate's name shall appear more than once on the ballot. [Whenever a person is, with his knowledge and consent, a candidate at any nominating convention or primary for nomination as the candidate of any political party for any office to be voted on at the election to be held next after such convention or primary, his name shall not be printed on the ballot at such election except in the column under the party name and emblem of the party designated on his declaration of candidacy or statement of candidacy for convention designation.]"

Section 11. REPEAL.--Section 1-8-19 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, Chapter 255, Section 106, as amended) is repealed.