2020 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 1 - Elections
Article 8 - Nominations and Primary Elections
Section 1-8-30 - Primary Election Law; declaration of candidacy; nominating petition; filing and form.

A. As used in the Primary Election Law, "nominating petition" means the authorized form used for obtaining the required number of signatures of voters, which is signed on behalf of the person wishing to become a candidate for a political office in the primary election requiring a nominating petition.

B. In making a declaration of candidacy, the candidate at the same time shall file a nominating petition, which shall be on the form prescribed by law.

C. The nominating petition shall be on paper approximately eight and one-half inches wide and eleven inches long with numbered lines for signatures spaced approximately three-eighths of an inch apart and shall be in the following form:

"NOMINATING PETITION

I, the undersigned, a registered voter of New Mexico, and a member of the _______________ party, hereby nominate ____________________, who resides at __________________ in the county of _______________, New Mexico, for the party nomination for the office of ________________________, to be voted for at the primary election to be held on _____, and I declare that I am a registered voter of the state, district, county or area to be represented by the office for which the person being nominated is a candidate. I also declare that I have not signed, and will not sign, any nominating petition for more persons than the number of candidates necessary to fill such office at the next ensuing general election.

D. In October of odd-numbered years, the secretary of state shall post on the secretary of state's web site and shall furnish to each county clerk a sample of a nominating petition form, a copy of which shall be made available by the county clerk upon request of any candidate.

E. When more than one sheet is required for a petition, each of the sheets shall be in the form prescribed by this section and all sheets shall be firmly secured by a staple or other suitable fastening.

History: 1953 Comp., § 3-8-24.1, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 228, § 4; 1974, ch. 18, § 1; 1975, ch. 255, § 108; 1975, ch. 295, § 15; 1977, ch. 222, § 20; 1985, ch. 206, § 1; 1987, ch. 327, § 14; 1993, ch. 55, § 6; 1994, ch. 92, § 4; 1995, ch. 124, § 15; 1999, ch. 267, § 26; 2001, ch. 234, § 1; 2011, ch. 137, § 57.

The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, made stylistic changes to the nominating petition and required the secretary of state to post a sample of a nominating petition on the secretary of state's website.

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, changed the paper length for nominating petitions from fourteen inches long to eleven inches long in Subsection C.

The 1999 amendment, effective June 18, 1999, deleted former Subsection E, relating to circumstances under which voter signatures shall not be counted, and redesignated former Subsection F as Subsection E.

The 1995 amendment, effective January 1, 1996, deleted "provided that candidates for statewide office or the office of United States representative who seek preprimary convention designation shall not be required to file nominating petitions with the declaration of candidacy" from the end of Subsection B, and added the first sentence in Subsection E.

The 1994 amendment, effective January 1, 1996, in Subsection B, deleted "whether by petition or preprimary convention designation" following "candidacy,", and added the language after "prescribed by law".

The 1993 amendment, effective November 15, 1993, substituted "whether by petition or pre-primary convention designation" for "or statement of candidacy for convention designation" in Subsection B.

Form of nominating petitions. — Where petitioner sought preprimary designation as a candidate for the office of United States representative from New Mexico's third congressional district at the 2020 republican party pre-primary convention, and where petitioner filed forty-nine nominating petitions containing over 700 signatures, along with her declaration of candidacy, and where the secretary of state invalidated the signatures on forty-four of petitioner's nominating petitions because those petitions omitted the heading "2020 Primary Nominating Petition", which the secretary of state deemed to be critical information required by law, the secretary of state's refusal to accept any nominating petition that did not have the heading at issue was improper because the substance of the invalidated nominating petitions conformed with the form prescribed by this section and therefore met the requirements of the Election Code. Morper v. Toulouse Oliver, 2020-NMSC-012.

A nominating petition for magistrate judgeship must include the division number of the judgeship that the candidate seeks. Charley v. Johnson, 2010-NMSC-024, 148 N.M. 246, 233 P.3d 775.

Failure to fill in entire line does not disqualify signature, notwithstanding Subsection E. Simmons v. McDaniel, 1984-NMSC-049, 101 N.M. 260, 680 P.2d 977 (decided prior to 1999 amendment).

Nominating petition filing requirement not violative of equal protection. — States may impose on minor political parties the precondition of demonstrating the existence of some reasonable quantum of voter support by requiring such parties to file petitions for a place on the ballot signed by a percentage of those who voted in a prior election. Consequently, 1-8-33 NMSA 1978 is not repugnant to the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment, since the percentage requirements are identical for the different political parties, all candidates of the same party running for the same office must acquire the same number of signatures, and any disparity in the number of signatures required as between the different parties merely accentuates the basic fairness of the procedure in recognizing the variation in the number of registered voters affiliated with the numerous parties in this state. Dillon v. King, 1974-NMSC-096, 87 N.M. 79, 529 P.2d 745.

Filing requirement discourages "laundry list" ballots. — "Laundry list" ballots discourage voter participation and confuse and frustrate those who participate. Rational results within the framework of our system are not likely to be reached if the ballot for a single office must list a dozen or more aspirants who are relatively unknown or have no prospects for success. Our electoral history vividly demonstrates that unrestricted primaries foster a rank and verdant growth of candidates. Dillon v. King, 1974-NMSC-096, 87 N.M. 79, 529 P.2d 745.

Legitimate state interest. — Free and open elections do not require a total lack of restraint on the number of political parties and nominees entitled to placement on the ballot. The state has a legitimate interest in trying to determine some degree of good faith on the part of electors who sign nominating petitions, in assuring at least a modicum of support for a political party and its nominees whose names are placed on the general election ballot, and in regulating the size of the ballot so as to minimize voter confusion and to prevent the overwhelming of voting machines. Dillon v. King, 1974-NMSC-096, 87 N.M. 79, 529 P.2d 745.

Scope of section. — This section is limited by its language to nominating petitions for primary elections. Workers World Party v. Vigil-Giron, 693 F. Supp. 989 (D.N.M. 1988).

Language mandatory. — The language of this section is mandatory and not discretionary and any nominating petition not containing the address of the candidate and his official designation on each sheet is invalid. 1952 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 52-5486 (opinion rendered under former law).

Candidate's name on petition. — So long as the name of the candidate upon the nominating petition reasonably and sufficiently identifies the declarant or candidate and so long as there is no patent discrepancy between the name on the nominating petition and the name on the declaration of candidacy, the petition is valid and acceptable. 1952 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 52-5486 (opinion rendered under former law).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 26 Am. Jur. 2d Elections §§ 236, 237.

29 C.J.S. Elections § 112.