2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 1 - Elections
Article 12 - Conduct of Elections
Section 1-12-19.1 - General elections; special elections; write-in candidates.
A. A person desiring to be a write-in candidate in a general election shall file with the proper filing officer between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-third day after the primary election a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate. A person desiring to be a write-in candidate in a special election for United States representative or a statewide special election shall file with the proper filing officer between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the sixty-third day immediately preceding the election a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate.
B. The form of the declaration of intent shall be prescribed by the secretary of state and shall contain a sworn statement by the candidate that the candidate is qualified to be a candidate for and to hold the office for which the candidate is filing.
C. 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 obligation to report under the Campaign Reporting Act [1-19-25 to 1-19-36 NMSA 1978], except that the candidate shall not be entitled to have the candidate's name printed on the ballot.
D. The secretary of state shall, not more than ten days after the filing date, certify the names of the declared write-in candidates to the county clerks of every county affected by such candidacy.
E. No person shall be a write-in candidate in the general election who was a candidate in the primary election immediately prior to the general election. A write-in candidate for governor or lieutenant governor in the general election shall have a companion write-in candidate, and they shall be candidates to be elected jointly by the casting by a voter of a single vote applicable to both offices.
F. A vote for a write-in candidate 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 office on the proper line provided on the ballot for write-in votes for the office for which the candidate has filed a declaration of intent and the voter has followed the directions for casting a vote for the write-in candidate.
G. No unopposed write-in candidate shall have an election certified unless the candidate receives at least the number of write-in votes equal to two percent of the total vote in the state, district or county in which the candidate seeks election that were cast for governor in the last preceding general election in which a governor was elected.
H. 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.
History: 1978 Comp., § 1-12-19.1, enacted by Laws 1981, ch. 156, § 2; 1983, ch. 232, § 15; 1991, ch. 105, § 27; 2005, ch. 270, § 69; 2009, ch. 150, § 15; 2011, ch. 137, § 89; 2014, ch. 40, § 9; 2014, ch. 81, § 9.
Cross references. — For write-in candidates in primary election, see 1-8-36.1 NMSA 1978.
The 2014 amendment, effective March 12, 2014, provided for a standardized filing date; and in Subsection A, in the first sentence, after "5:00 p.m. on the", deleted "twenty-first" and added "twenty-third".
Laws 2014, ch. 40, § 9, effective March 7, 2014, and Laws 2014, ch. 81, § 9, effective March 12, 2014, enacted identical amendments to this section. The section was set out as amended by Laws 2014, ch. 81, § 9. See 12-1-8 NMSA 1978.
The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, required a write-in candidate to file a declaration of intent on the twenty-first day after the primary election; in Subsection D, required the secretary of state to certify the names of write-in candidates not more than ten days after the filing date; required write-in candidates for governor or lieutenant governor to have a companion write-in candidate; and prescribed the minimum number of votes an unopposed write-in candidate must receive to have the election certified.
The 2009 amendment, effective June 19, 2009, in Paragraph (2) of Subsection F, after "in the proper office", deleted "or entered upon the keyboard on the voting machine"; after "provided on", deleted "a marksense ballot, absentee ballot or emergency paper" and after "declaration of intent" added the remainder of the sentence.
The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, in Subsection A, provided that a person desiring to be a write-in candidate in a general election shall file the declaration of intent between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the day after the primary election.
The 1991 amendment, effective April 2, 1991, substituted "sixty-third day" for "fifty-sixth day" in the second sentence in Subsection A and, in Paragraph (2) of Subsection F, substituted "office or entered upon the keyboard" for "slot", inserted "a marksense ballot", and made a related stylistic change.
Write-in ballots in conservancy district elections. — Certain requirements of Section 1-12-19.1 NMSA 1978 pertaining to write-in ballots do not specifically encompass or relate to special district elections and are not capable of adoption in their entirety to those elections. Gonzales v. Middle Rio Grande Conservancy Dist., 1987-NMCA-125, 106 N.M. 426, 744 P.2d 554.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — Elections: validity of state or local legislative ban on write-in votes, 69 A.L.R.4th 948.
