2020 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 1 - Elections
Article 3 - Precincts and Polling Places
Section 1-3-12 - Adjusting precinct boundaries. (Contingent effective date. See note below.)

A. Before each federal decennial census, every precinct shall comply with the requirements of Section 1-3-1 NMSA 1978, and if necessary its boundary shall be adjusted to coincide with a feature or a boundary that is:

(1) shown on the standard base maps developed pursuant to Subsection B of this section;

(2) a designated census block boundary on the proposed federal PL 94-171 2020 census block maps; or

(3) approved by the secretary of state and the United States census bureau.

B. Prior to commencement of the federal decennial census, the secretary of state shall have prepared and shall furnish to each county clerk standard base maps of the county. The standard base map for urban and nonurban areas of the county shall, as nearly as practical, show:

(1) all state and federal highways;

(2) all numbered and named county roads that have been certified to the department of transportation;

(3) all military installation boundaries and federal and state prison boundaries;

(4) all major railroad lines;

(5) federal, state and county political boundaries, municipal boundaries and school district boundaries;

(6) all streets within urban areas; and

(7) other major terrain features, such as flowing rivers and streams, arroyos, power lines, pipelines, roads, trails and ridgelines and other acceptable census block boundaries.

C. The board of county commissioners, upon receipt of the standard base maps from the secretary of state and upon the recommendation of the county clerk, shall:

(1) adjust all precinct boundaries to coincide with numbered or named street boundaries or suitable visible terrain features shown on the standard base map; provided that the precincts shall be composed of contiguous and compact areas, and state, county, municipal, school district and other special district or political boundary lines shall serve as precinct boundaries whenever possible; and

(2) upon the completion of the precinct boundary adjustments as required in this section, indicate on the standard base maps the boundaries for both urban and nonurban precincts and, together with a written description of the precincts, shall send an electronic copy to the secretary of state for approval.

D. The precincts shown upon the standard base maps submitted pursuant to the provisions of this section and as revised and approved by the secretary of state pursuant to the Precinct Boundary Adjustment Act [1-3-10 to 1-3-14 NMSA 1978] shall become the official precincts of each county for the 2021 redistricting. For the 2022 and subsequent statewide elections, changes in precincts shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 1, Article 3 NMSA 1978.

E. In the same calendar year in which the state receives the results of a federal decennial census, the state legislature shall redistrict federal representative districts, each chamber of the legislature, public education commission districts and any other state districts requiring redistricting.

F. In the calendar year following the receipt of the results of a federal decennial census, each local public body subject to districting shall create or redraw districts for the local public body. A local public body, when creating or redrawing districts, shall not split a precinct into two or more districts for any elected office unless necessary to comply with federal law or to preserve communities of interest.

History: 1978 Comp., § 1-3-12, enacted by 1984 (1st S.S.), ch. 3, § 4; 1991 (1st S.S.), ch. 6, § 7; 1995, ch. 126, § 5; 1997, ch. 85, § 1; 2005, ch. 270, § 16; 2009, ch. 222, § 2; 2019, ch. 212, § 41; 2020, ch. 9, § 1.

Contingent effective date. — Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 1 amended 1-3-12 NMSA 1978, effective January 1, 2023, contingent upon certification by the secretary of state that the constitution of New Mexico has been amended as proposed by a joint resolution of the first session of the fifty-fourth legislature (Laws 2019, SJC/SRC/SJR Nos. 1 and 4, CA #1) at the general election to be held on November 3, 2020.

The 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2023, removed the requirement that the state legislature redistrict public regulation commission districts upon receiving the results of the federal decennial census, and made certain technical amendments; and in Subsection E, after "chamber of the legislature", deleted "public regulation commission districts".