2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 1 - Elections
Article 24 - Special Election Procedures
Section 1-24-2 - Special election procedures; proclamation; publication.
A. Whenever a local government special election is to be called or is required by law, the governing body shall by resolution issue a public proclamation calling the election. The proclamation shall forthwith be filed with the county clerk. The proclamation shall specify:
(1) the date on which the special election will be held;
(2) the purpose for which the special election is called;
(3) the text of any questions to be voted on; and
(4) the date and time of closing the registration books by the county clerk as required by law.
B. After filing with the county clerk the proclamation issued pursuant to Subsection A of this section, and beginning not less than sixty-three days before the date of the election, the county clerk shall publish the proclamation once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within the boundaries of the local government or special district. The proclamation shall conform to the requirements of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended.
C. Whenever a statewide special election is to be called or is required by law, the governor shall by resolution issue a public proclamation calling the election. Whenever an election to fill a vacancy in the office of United States representative is to be called or is required by law, the governor shall by resolution issue a public proclamation calling the election pursuant to the requirements of Section 1-15-18.1 NMSA 1978. The proclamation shall forthwith be filed with the secretary of state. The proclamation shall specify:
(1) the date on which the special election will be held;
(2) the purpose for which the special election is called;
(3) if a vacancy in the office of United States representative is to be filled, the date on which declarations of candidacy are to be filed;
(4) the text of any questions to be voted upon; and
(5) the date and time of closing the registration books by the county clerk as required by law.
D. After the proclamation issued pursuant to Subsection C of this section is filed with the secretary of state, the secretary of state shall within five days certify the proclamation to each county clerk in the state. Beginning not less than sixty-three days before the date of the election, the county clerk shall publish the proclamation once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.
E. For an election called pursuant to Subsection F of Section 1-15-18.1 NMSA 1978, the proclamation shall be published consistent with this subsection not less than thirty-six days before the date of the election. The proclamation shall conform to the requirements of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended.
History: Laws 1989, ch. 295, § 2; 2011, ch. 137, § 107; 2017, ch. 101, § 19; 2018, ch. 79, § 40.
Cross references. — For the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, see 42 U.S.C. § 1973 et seq.
The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, revised the required contents of a public proclamation calling for a special election, and required the county clerk to publish the proclamation; in Subsection A, deleted former Paragraph A(3) and paragraph designation "(4)", added new paragraph designation "(3)", deleted former Paragraphs A(5) and A(6) and redesignated former Paragraph A(7) as Paragraph A(4); in Subsection B, after "Subsection A of this section, and", added "beginning", and after "the date of the election, the", deleted "governing body" and added "county clerk"; in Paragraph C(4), deleted "if a question is" and added "the text of any questions", and after "voted upon", deleted "the text of that question"; in Subsection D, after "newspaper of general circulation", deleted "which shall include the precincts in the county in which the election is to be held and the location of each polling place in the precinct and the hours that each polling place will be open"; and added new subsection designation "E.".
The 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, changed the deadline by which the governing body of the local government calling for a local government special election must publish the proclamation that calls for the local government special election, and changed the deadline by which the county clerk must publish the proclamation that calls for a statewide special election whenever a statewide special election is to be called or is required by law; and in Subsections B and D, after "Not less than", deleted "fifty-six" and added "sixty-three".
The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, made Subsection A applicable to local government special elections; and provided a procedure for issuing, certifying, and publishing proclamations calling statewide special elections and elections to fill a vacancy in the office of United States representative.
