0001| HOUSE BILL 381 | 0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998 | 0003| INTRODUCED BY | 0004| GARY K. KING | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| AN ACT | 0011| RELATING TO ELECTIONS; ESTABLISHING NOMINATING PETITION | 0012| REQUIREMENTS AND WRITE-IN REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PUBLIC | 0013| REGULATION COMMISSION; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE PRIMARY | 0014| ELECTION LAW. | 0015| | 0016| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0017| Section 1. Section 1-8-33 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, | 0018| Chapter 228, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read: | 0019| "1-8-33. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--NOMINATING PETITION-- | 0020| NUMBER OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED.-- | 0021| A. As used in this section, "total vote" means the | 0022| sum of all votes cast for all of the party's candidates for | 0023| governor at the last preceding primary election at which the | 0024| party's candidate for governor was nominated. | 0025| B. Candidates who seek preprimary convention | - 1 - 0001| designation shall file nominating petitions at the time of | 0002| filing declarations of candidacy. Nominating petitions for | 0003| those candidates shall be signed by a number of voters equal | 0004| to at least two percent of the total vote of the candidate's | 0005| party in the state or congressional district, or the following | 0006| number of voters, whichever is greater: for statewide | 0007| offices, two hundred thirty voters; and for congressional | 0008| candidates, seventy-seven voters. | 0009| C. Nominating petitions for candidates for any | 0010| other office to be voted on at the primary election for which | 0011| nominating petitions are required shall be signed by a number | 0012| of voters equal to at least three percent of the total vote of | 0013| the candidate's party in the district or division, or the | 0014| following number of voters, whichever is greater: for | 0015| metropolitan court and magistrate courts, ten voters; for the | 0016| public regulation commission, fifty voters; for the state | 0017| board of education, twenty-five voters; for state | 0018| representative, ten voters; for state senator, seventeen | 0019| voters; and for district attorney and district judge, fifteen | 0020| voters. | 0021| D. A candidate who fails to receive the preprimary | 0022| convention designation that he sought may collect additional | 0023| signatures to total at least four percent of the total vote of | 0024| the candidate's party in the state or congressional district, | 0025| whichever applies to the office he seeks, and file a new | - 2 - 0001| declaration of candidacy and nominating petitions for the | 0002| office for which he failed to receive a preprimary | 0003| designation. The declaration of candidacy and nominating | 0004| petitions shall be filed with the secretary of state either | 0005| ten days following the date of the preprimary convention at | 0006| which he failed to receive the designation or on the date all | 0007| declarations of candidacy and nominating petitions are due | 0008| pursuant to the provisions of the Primary Election Law, | 0009| whichever is later." | 0010| Section 2. Section 1-8-36.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, | 0011| Chapter 156, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read: | 0012| "1-8-36.1. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--WRITE-IN CANDIDATES.-- | 0013| A. Write-in candidates are permitted in the | 0014| primary election only for the offices of United States | 0015| representative, members of the legislature, district judges, | 0016| district attorneys, public regulation commission, state | 0017| board of education, magistrates and any office voted upon by | 0018| all voters of the state. | 0019| B. A person may be a write-in candidate only for | 0020| nomination by the major political party with which he is | 0021| affiliated as shown by his certificate of registration, and | 0022| such person shall have the qualifications to be a candidate in | 0023| the primary election for the political party for which he is a | 0024| write-in candidate. | 0025| C. A person desiring to be a write-in candidate | - 3 - 0001| for one of the offices listed in Subsection A of this section | 0002| in the primary election shall file with the proper filing | 0003| officer a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate. | 0004| Such declaration of intent shall be filed before 5:00 p.m. on | 0005| the second Tuesday in March. | 0006| D. A write-in vote shall be counted and canvassed | 0007| only if: | 0008| (1) the name written in is the name of a | 0009| declared write-in candidate and shows two initials and last | 0010| name; first name, middle initial or name and last name; first | 0011| and last name; or the full name as it appears on the | 0012| declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate and | 0013| misspellings of the above combinations that can be reasonably | 0014| determined by a majority of the members of the precinct board | 0015| to identify a declared write-in candidate; and | 0016| (2) the name is written in the proper slot on | 0017| the voting machine or on the proper line provided on an | 0018| absentee ballot or emergency paper ballot for write-in votes | 0019| for the office for which the candidate has filed a declaration | 0020| of intent. | 0021| E. At the time of filing the declaration of intent | 0022| to be a write-in candidate, the write-in candidate shall be | 0023| considered a candidate for all purposes and provisions | 0024| relating to candidates in the Election Code, including the | 0025| obligations to report under the Campaign Reporting Act, except | - 4 - 0001| that he shall not be entitled to have his name printed on the | 0002| ballot. | 0003| F. No unopposed write-in candidate shall have his | 0004| nomination certified unless he receives at least the number of | 0005| write-in votes in the primary election as he would need | 0006| signatures on a nominating petition pursuant to the | 0007| requirements set out in Section 1-8-33 NMSA 1978. | 0008| G. A write-in vote shall be cast by writing in the | 0009| name. As used in this section, "write-in" does not include | 0010| the imprinting of any name by rubber stamp or similar device | 0011| or the use of preprinted stickers or labels." | 0012| Section 3. Section 1-8-51 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, | 0013| Chapter 322, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read: | 0014| "1-8-51. INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES FOR GENERAL OR UNITED | 0015| STATES REPRESENTATIVE SPECIAL ELECTIONS--NOMINATING | 0016| PETITIONS--REQUIRED NUMBER OF SIGNATURES.-- | 0017| A. The basis of percentage for the total number of | 0018| votes cast in each instance referred to in this section shall | 0019| be the total vote cast for governor at the last preceding | 0020| general election at which a governor was elected. | 0021| B. Nominating petitions for an independent | 0022| candidate for president of the United States shall be signed | 0023| by a number of voters equal to at least three percent of the | 0024| total number of votes cast in the state. | 0025| C. Nominating petitions for an independent | - 5 - 0001| candidate for United States senator or any other statewide | 0002| elective office shall be signed by a number of voters equal to | 0003| at least three percent of the total number of votes cast in | 0004| the state. | 0005| D. Nominating petitions for an independent | 0006| candidate for United States representative shall be signed by | 0007| a number of voters equal to at least three percent of the | 0008| total number of votes cast in the district. | 0009| E. Nominating petitions for an independent | 0010| candidate for a member of the legislature, district judge, | 0011| district attorney, public regulation commission, member of | 0012| the state board of education, magistrate or county office | 0013| shall be signed by a number of voters equal to at least three | 0014| percent of the total number of votes cast in the district, | 0015| division or county, as the case may be. | 0016| F. ~~[The]~~ A voter shall not sign a petition for | 0017| an independent candidate as provided in this section if he has | 0018| signed a petition for another independent candidate for the | 0019| same office." | 0020| |