2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 1 - Elections
Article 22 - Local Elections
Section 1-22-4 - Regular local election; municipal officer election; proclamation; publication.
A. The secretary of state shall by resolution issue a public proclamation in Spanish and English calling a regular local election on the date prescribed by the Local Election Act. The proclamation shall be filed by the secretary of state in the office of the secretary of state ninety days preceding the date of the regular local election.
B. Between one hundred twenty and one hundred fifty days before the next local election, each local government shall notify the secretary of state of all local government positions that are to be filled at the next election for that local government.
C. The proclamation shall specify the:
(1) date when the election will be held;
(2) positions on each local governing body to be filled;
(3) executive and judicial positions to be filled;
(4) date on which declarations of candidacy are to be filed;
(5) date on which declarations of intent to be a write-in candidate are to be filed; and
(6) municipalities subject to a ranked-choice voting runoff election and those subject to a top-two runoff election, and the date of the top-two runoff election should one be necessary.
D. After receipt of the proclamation from the secretary of state, the county clerk shall post the entire proclamation on the county clerk's website and, not less than seventy-five days before the date of the election, shall publish portions of the proclamation relevant to the county at least once in a newspaper of general circulation within the county. The publication of the proclamation shall conform to the requirements of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, and shall specify the:
(1) date when the election will be held;
(2) positions on each local governing body of a district situated in whole or in part in the county;
(3) elective executive and judicial positions of each local government situated in whole or in part in the county;
(4) date on which declarations of candidacy are to be filed;
(5) location of each polling place;
(6) location of each alternate voting location for early voting;
(7) hours each polling place and alternate voting location will be open; and
(8) date and time of the closing of the registration books by the county as required by law.
E. Whenever two or more members of a local governing body are to be elected at large for terms of the same length of time, the secretary of state shall numerically designate the positions on the ballot as "position one", "position two" and such additional consecutively numbered positions as are necessary, but only one member shall be elected for each position. Whenever two or more members of a local governing body are to be elected to represent the same area with terms of different lengths of time, the secretary of state shall list the office with the shorter length of time first and shall designate each position with "for a term expiring ___".
History: 1978 Comp., § 1-22-4, enacted by Laws 1985, ch. 168, § 6; 1987, ch. 338, § 1; 1991, ch. 105, § 40; 2007, ch. 337, § 19; repealed and reenacted by Laws 2018, ch. 79, § 19.
Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 2018, ch. 79, § 19 repealed 1-22-4 NMSA 1978 and enacted a new section effective July 1, 2018.
Cross references. — For the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, see 42 U.S.C. § 1973 et seq.
The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, changed the day the proclamation is to be filed with the county clerk from the last Friday to the last Tuesday in November.
The 1991 amendment, effective April 2, 1991, inserted "in Spanish and English" in the first sentence in Subsection A and made a minor stylistic change in Subsection C.
