2019 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 1 - Elections
Article 15 - Presidential Electors, Senators, Congressmen and Expiring Terms
Section 1-15-18.1 - United States representative; vacancy.

A. Within ten days after a vacancy occurs in the office of United States representative, the secretary of state shall, by proclamation, call an election to be held not less than seventy-seven nor more than ninety-one days after the date of the vacancy for the purpose of filling the vacancy, except as provided in Subsections H and I of this section.

B. The proclamation shall forthwith be filed by the secretary of state in the office of the secretary of state. The proclamation shall specify the:

(1) date on which the election will be held;

(2) purpose for which the election is called;

(3) date on which declarations of candidacy are to be filed;

(4) date on which declarations of intent to be a write-in candidate are to be filed; and

(5) date certificates of registration are to be subscribed and sworn to participate in the election as required by law.

C. After the proclamation is issued pursuant to Subsection B of this section, the secretary of state shall within five days certify the proclamation to each county clerk with precincts located in the United States representative district in which the vacancy exists. Beginning not less than sixty-three days before the date of the election, the secretary of state shall publish the proclamation once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.

D. Upon the issuance of the proclamation, each qualified political party may nominate in the manner provided by the rules of that party a candidate to fill the vacancy in the office of United States representative; provided that such nomination is certified to the secretary of state by the state chair of that party no later than 5:00 p.m. on the fifty-sixth day preceding the date of the election.

E. Declarations of unaffiliated candidacy to fill the vacancy in the office of United States representative and nominating petitions pertaining thereto shall be filed with the secretary of state no later than 5:00 p.m. on the fifty-sixth day preceding the date of the election.

F. Declarations of intent to be a write-in candidate to fill a vacancy in the office of United States representative shall be filed with the secretary of state no later than 5:00 p.m. on the fifty-sixth day preceding the date of the election.

G. Elections called for the purpose of filling a vacancy in the office of United States representative shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Election Code for general elections; provided, however, if there is a conflict between this section and other provisions of the Election Code, the provisions of this section shall control. The secretary of state shall, only when necessary, adjust the day provided in the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act [1-6B-1 to 1-6B-17 NMSA 1978] to send ballots to federal qualified electors in an election to fill a vacancy in the office of United States representative. The adjusted day shall be immediately posted on the website of the secretary of state and reported to the federal voting assistance program.

H. If a vacancy occurs in the office of United States representative beginning one hundred sixty days and no less than sixty-three days before a statewide election, the vacancy shall be filled at the next statewide election; provided that when filling a vacancy:

(1) at a general election, candidates seeking the office of United States representative in that general election for the next succeeding term shall be deemed to be candidates for the unexpired term as well, and the candidate elected shall take office upon the certification of the election results; or

(2) at a political party primary or a regular local election, each ballot shall contain the election to fill the vacancy in the office of United States representative listed before the contests in the political party primary or regular local election, and ballots containing only the election of the vacancy in the office of United States representative shall be available to voters who do not otherwise qualify to vote in the political party primary or that regular local election.

I. If a vacancy occurs in the office of United States representative in extraordinary circumstances when there are more than one hundred vacancies in the United States house of representatives and there are more than seventy-five days before a regularly scheduled election, then pursuant to 2 U.S.C. Section 8(b):

(1) the governor shall immediately issue a writ of election, upon which the secretary of state shall, by proclamation, call an election to be held not more than forty-nine days after the vacancy is announced and file the proclamation along with the writ in the office of the secretary of state;

(2) the secretary of state shall immediately certify the proclamation to each county clerk with precincts located in the United States representative district in which the vacancy exists, and beginning not less than thirty-five days before the date of the election, the secretary of state shall publish the proclamation once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation;

(3) each qualified political party may nominate in the manner provided by the rules of that party a candidate to fill the vacancy in the office of United States representative; provided that such nomination is certified to the secretary of state by the state chair of that party no later than 5:00 p.m. on the tenth business day following announcement of the vacancy;

(4) declarations of independent candidacy to fill the vacancy in the office of United States representative and nominating petitions pertaining thereto shall be filed with the secretary of state no later than 5:00 p.m. on the tenth business day following announcement of the vacancy; and

(5) declarations of intent to be a write-in candidate to fill the vacancy in the office of United States representative shall be filed with the secretary of state no later than 5:00 p.m. on the tenth business day following announcement of the vacancy.

J. The state shall pay all costs of an election to fill a vacancy in the office of United States representative when the election is not held on the same ballot as a statewide election.

History: 1978 Comp., § 1-15-18.1, enacted by Laws 1983, ch. 232, § 16; 2008, ch. 58, § 4; 2019, ch. 212, § 131.

The 2019 amendment, effective April 3, 2019, revised the procedures for filling a vacancy in the office of United States representative; in Subsection A, added "Within", after "United States representative, the", deleted "governor" and added "secretary of state", after "call", deleted "a special" and added "an", after "not less than", deleted "eighty-four" and added "seventy-seven", after "Subsections", deleted "E" and added "H", and after the next occurrence of "and", deleted "F" and added "I"; added new Subsections B and C and redesignated former Subsections B and C as Subsections D and E, respectively; added a new Subsection F and redesignated former Subsections D through F as Subsections G through I, respectively; in Subsection G, deleted "Special", after "Election Code", added "for general elections", and after "shall control", added the remainder of the subsection; in Subsection H, after "United States representative", deleted "after the date of the primary election and before the date of the general election of that same year, the vacancy shall be filled at that general election of the same year" and added "beginning one hundred sixty days and no less than sixty-three days before a statewide election, the vacancy shall be filled a the next statewide election; provided that when filling a vacancy", in Paragraph H(1), added "at a general election", and added Paragraph H(2); in Subsection I, in the introductory clause, after "United States representative", added "in extraordinary circumstances", after "scheduled election", deleted "or previously scheduled special election", and added "pursuant to 2 U.S.C. Section 8(b)", in Paragraph I(1), added "immediately issue a writ of election, upon which the secretary of state shall", after "call", deleted "a special" and added "an", and after "announced", added "and file the proclamation along with the writ in the office of the secretary of state", added a new Paragraph I(2) and redesignated former Paragraphs (2) and (3) as Paragraphs I(3) and I(4), in Paragraph I(4), after "on the", deleted "twentieth" and added "tenth business", and added Paragraph I(5); and added Subsection J.

The 2008 amendment, effective February 29, 2008, added Subsection F.