2021 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 1 - Elections
Article 14 - Contests and Recounts
Section 1-14-23 - Recount procedures.
A. To ensure the accuracy of electronic vote tabulating systems, in a recount, the votes from a random selection of ballots shall be tallied by hand, and the votes from the same ballots shall be tabulated by the electronic vote tabulating systems to be used in the recount. For statewide and federal office, the number of ballots to be tallied and tabulated shall be equal to the greater of one hundred, or two percent, of the ballots cast in each county. For all other offices, the number of ballots to be tallied and tabulated shall be equal to the greater of one hundred, or five percent, of the ballots cast for the office, distributed by county where applicable. If more than one electronic vote tabulating system is to be used in a county, the ballots to be recounted shall be divided among the electronic vote tabulating systems to be used, and the above process shall be performed on each electronic vote tabulating system based on the number of votes to be recounted on each individual electronic vote tabulating system.
B. If the results of the hand tally and the electronic vote tabulating system tabulation do not differ, the remaining ballots shall be recounted using that electronic vote tabulating system. If the results of the hand tally and the electronic vote tabulating system differ, the electronic vote tabulating system shall not be used in the recount and the remaining ballots shall be recounted by hand or on a different electronic vote tabulating system in which the results did not differ.
C. When using an electronic vote tabulating system for a recount, a county clerk may permit a visual inspection of the ballots prior to tabulation by the optical scan tabulating system for the purpose of permitting a representative of a candidate to identify individual ballots to be selected for hand tally by the precinct board [election board].
History: Laws 2007, ch. 337, § 2; 2015, ch. 145, § 77.
ANNOTATIONSBracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.
Laws 2019, ch. 212, § 283, effective April 3, 2019, provided that references in the Election Code to "precinct board", shall be deemed to be references to "election board", as that term is defined in Section 1-1-13 NMSA 1978.
The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, amended the procedures for a recount following an election; in Subsection A, after "tabulating systems", deleted "the secretary of state shall issue rules to implement the recount procedures provided for in Subsections B and C of this section" and added "in a recount"; added the language of former Subsection B to Subsection A; after "electronic vote tabulating" deleted "system" and added "systems to be used in the recount", after "shall be equal to", deleted "at least" and added "the greater of one hundred, or", and added the last sentence of the subsection; redesignated former Subsection C as Subsection B, deleted "For a statewide or federal office", after "system tabulation", added "do not", after "differ", deleted "by one-fourth of one percent or less", and after "vote tabulating", deleted "systems. Otherwise, the remaining ballots shall be recounted by hand" and added "system. If the results of the hand tally and the electronic vote tabulating system differ, the electronic vote tabulating system shall not be used in the recount and the remaining ballots shall be recounted by hand or on a different electronic vote tabulating system in which the results did not differ"; added a new Subsection C; deleted Subsection D, relating to when the hand-tally and the electronic vote tabulating system tabulation differ by the greater of one percent or less, or two votes; and deleted Subsection E.
