0001| HOUSE BILL 425 | 0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998 | 0003| INTRODUCED BY | 0004| HENRY KIKI SAAVEDRA | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| AN ACT | 0011| RELATING TO ELECTIONS; ESTABLISHING NOMINATING PETITION | 0012| PROCEDURES, WRITE-IN CANDIDACY PROCEDURES AND OTHER ELECTION | 0013| PROCEDURES FOR THE PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION; AMENDING | 0014| SECTIONS OF THE ELECTION CODE. | 0015| | 0016| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0017| Section 1. Section 1-8-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, | 0018| Chapter 240, Section 152, as amended) is amended to read: | 0019| "1-8-2. NOMINATION BY MINOR POLITICAL PARTY-- | 0020| CONVENTION--DESIGNATED NOMINEES.-- | 0021| A. If the rules and regulations of a minor | 0022| political party require nomination by political convention: | 0023| (1) the chairman and secretary of the state | 0024| political convention shall certify to the secretary of state | 0025| the names of their party's nominees for United States senator, | - 1 - 0001| United States representative, all elective state offices, | 0002| legislative offices elected from multicounty districts, | 0003| public regulation commission, all elective judicial officers | 0004| in the judicial department and all offices representing a | 0005| district composed of more than one county; and | 0006| (2) the chairman and secretary of the county | 0007| political convention shall certify to the county clerk the | 0008| names of their party's nominees for elected county offices and | 0009| for legislative offices elected from a district located wholly | 0010| within one county or that is composed of only one county. | 0011| B. The names certified to the secretary of state | 0012| shall be filed on the second Tuesday in July in the year of | 0013| the general election and shall be accompanied by a petition | 0014| containing a list of signatures and addresses of voters | 0015| totaling not less than one percent of the total number of | 0016| votes cast at the last preceding general election for the | 0017| office of governor or president of the United States, as the | 0018| case may be: | 0019| (1) in the state for statewide offices; and | 0020| (2) in the district for offices other than | 0021| statewide offices. | 0022| The petition shall contain a statement that the voters | 0023| signing the petition are residents of the state, district, | 0024| county or area to be represented by the office for which the | 0025| person being nominated is a candidate. | - 2 - 0001| C. The names certified to the county clerk shall | 0002| be filed on the second Tuesday in July in the year of the | 0003| general election and shall be accompanied by a petition | 0004| containing a list of signatures and addresses of voters | 0005| totaling not less than one percent of the total number of | 0006| votes cast at the last preceding general election for the | 0007| office of governor or president of the United States, as the | 0008| case may be: | 0009| (1) in the county for countywide offices; and | 0010| (2) in the district for offices other than | 0011| countywide offices. | 0012| The petition shall contain a statement that the voters | 0013| signing the petition are residents of the state, district, | 0014| county or area to be represented by the office for which the | 0015| person being nominated is a candidate. | 0016| D. Persons certified as nominees shall be members | 0017| of that party before the day the governor issues the primary | 0018| election proclamation. | 0019| E. No voter shall sign any petition prescribed by | 0020| this section for more persons than the number of minor party | 0021| candidates necessary to fill the office at the next ensuing | 0022| general election." | 0023| Section 2. Section 1-8-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, | 0024| Chapter 240, Section 153, as amended) is amended to read: | 0025| "1-8-3. NOMINATION BY MINOR POLITICAL PARTY--OTHER | - 3 - 0001| METHODS.-- If the rules and regulations of a minor political | 0002| party require nomination by a method other than a political | 0003| convention: | 0004| A. the state chairman and the governing board of | 0005| the state party shall certify to the secretary of state the | 0006| names of their party's nominees for United States senator, | 0007| United States representative, all elective state offices, | 0008| legislative offices elected from multicounty districts, | 0009| public regulation commission, all elective judicial officers | 0010| in the judicial department and all offices representing a | 0011| district composed of more than one county; | 0012| B. the county chairman and the governing board of | 0013| the county party shall certify to the county clerk the names | 0014| of their party's nominees for elected county offices and for | 0015| legislative offices elected from a district located wholly | 0016| within one county or ~~[which]~~ that is composed of only one | 0017| county; and | 0018| C. the names of such nominees shall be filed in | 0019| the same time and manner prescribed by the Election Code for | 0020| convention-designated nominees of minor political parties, and | 0021| each list of names certified shall be accompanied by the | 0022| petition containing a list of signatures and addresses of | 0023| voters as prescribed for convention-designated nominees." | 0024| Section 3. Section 1-8-13 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, | 0025| Chapter 240, Section 162, as amended) is amended to read: | - 4 - 0001| "1-8-13. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--CONTENTS OF | 0002| PROCLAMATION.--The proclamation calling a primary election | 0003| shall contain: | 0004| A. the names of the major political parties | 0005| participating in the primary election; | 0006| B. the offices for which each political party | 0007| shall nominate candidates; provided that if any law is enacted | 0008| by the legislature in the year in which the primary election | 0009| is held and ~~[such]~~ the law does not take effect until | 0010| after the date of the proclamation but prior to the date of | 0011| the primary election, the proclamation shall conform to the | 0012| intent of ~~[such]~~ the law with respect to the offices for | 0013| which each political party shall nominate candidates; | 0014| C. the date on which declarations of candidacy and | 0015| nominating petitions for United States representative, any | 0016| office voted upon by all the voters of the state, a | 0017| legislative office, the office of district judge, district | 0018| attorney, state board of education, public regulation | 0019| commission or magistrate shall be filed and the places where | 0020| they shall be filed in order to have the candidates' names | 0021| printed on the official ballot of their party at the primary | 0022| election; | 0023| D. the date on and place at which declarations of | 0024| candidacy shall be filed for any other office and filing fees | 0025| paid or, in lieu thereof, a pauper's statement of inability to | - 5 - 0001| pay; | 0002| E. the date on and place at which declarations of | 0003| intent to be a write-in candidate for a statewide office or | 0004| office of United States representative shall be filed; | 0005| F. the date on and place at which declarations of | 0006| intent to be a write-in candidate for any other office shall | 0007| be filed; | 0008| G. the final date on and place at which candidates | 0009| for the office of United States representative and for any | 0010| statewide office seeking preprimary convention designation by | 0011| the major parties shall file petitions and declarations of | 0012| candidacy; | 0013| H. the final date on which the major political | 0014| parties shall hold state preprimary conventions for the | 0015| designation of candidates; and | 0016| I. the final date on and place at which | 0017| certificates of designation of primary election candidates | 0018| shall be filed by political parties with the secretary of | 0019| state. | 0020| As used in the Primary Election Law, "statewide office" | 0021| means any office voted on by all the voters of the state." | 0022| Section 4. Section 1-8-25 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, | 0023| Chapter 240, Section 170, as amended) is amended to read: | 0024| "1-8-25. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY-- | 0025| PROPER FILING OFFICER.--The proper filing officer for filing | - 6 - 0001| declarations of candidacy is: | 0002| A. the secretary of state for the offices of: | 0003| (1) United States senator; | 0004| (2) United States representative; | 0005| (3) all state elective offices; | 0006| (4) legislative offices elected from | 0007| multicounty districts; | 0008| (5) all public regulation commission | 0009| districts; | 0010| ~~[(5)]~~ (6) all elective judicial offices in | 0011| the judicial department, except magistrates; and | 0012| ~~[(6)]~~ (7) all offices representing a | 0013| district composed of more than one county; and | 0014| B. the county clerk for the offices of: | 0015| (1) all elective county offices; | 0016| (2) magistrates; and | 0017| (3) legislative offices elected from a | 0018| district located wholly within one county or ~~[which]~~ that | 0019| is composed of only one county." | 0020| Section 5. Section 1-8-33 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, | 0021| Chapter 228, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read: | 0022| "1-8-33. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--NOMINATING PETITION-- | 0023| NUMBER OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED.-- | 0024| A. As used in this section, "total vote" means the | 0025| sum of all votes cast for all of the party's candidates for | - 7 - 0001| governor at the last preceding primary election at which the | 0002| party's candidate for governor was nominated. | 0003| B. Candidates who seek preprimary convention | 0004| designation shall file nominating petitions at the time of | 0005| filing declarations of candidacy. Nominating petitions for | 0006| those candidates shall be signed by a number of voters equal to | 0007| at least two percent of the total vote of the candidate's party | 0008| in the state or congressional district, or the following number | 0009| of voters, whichever is greater: for statewide offices, two | 0010| hundred thirty voters; and for congressional candidates, | 0011| seventy-seven voters. | 0012| C. Nominating petitions for candidates for any | 0013| other office to be voted on at the primary election for which | 0014| nominating petitions are required shall be signed by a number | 0015| of voters equal to at least three percent of the total vote of | 0016| the candidate's party in the district or division, or the | 0017| following number of voters, whichever is greater: for | 0018| metropolitan court and magistrate courts, ten voters; for the | 0019| public regulation commission, fifty voters; for the state | 0020| board of education, twenty-five voters; for state | 0021| representative, ten voters; for state senator, seventeen | 0022| voters; and for district attorney and district judge, fifteen | 0023| voters. | 0024| D. A candidate who fails to receive the preprimary | 0025| convention designation that he sought may collect additional | - 8 - 0001| signatures to total at least four percent of the total vote of | 0002| the candidate's party in the state or congressional district, | 0003| whichever applies to the office he seeks, and file a new | 0004| declaration of candidacy and nominating petitions for the | 0005| office for which he failed to receive a preprimary designation. | 0006| The declaration of candidacy and nominating petitions shall be | 0007| filed with the secretary of state either ten days following the | 0008| date of the preprimary convention at which he failed to receive | 0009| the designation or on the date all declarations of candidacy | 0010| and nominating petitions are due pursuant to the provisions of | 0011| the Primary Election Law, whichever is later." | 0012| Section 6. Section 1-8-36.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, | 0013| Chapter 156, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read: | 0014| "1-8-36.1. PRIMARY ELECTION LAW--WRITE-IN CANDIDATES.-- | 0015| A. Write-in candidates are permitted in the primary | 0016| election only for the offices of United States representative, | 0017| members of the legislature, district judges, district | 0018| attorneys, public regulation commission, state board of | 0019| education, magistrates and any office voted upon by all voters | 0020| of the state. | 0021| B. A person may be a write-in candidate only for | 0022| nomination by the major political party with which he is | 0023| affiliated as shown by his certificate of registration, and | 0024| such person shall have the qualifications to be a candidate in | 0025| the primary election for the political party for which he is a | - 9 - 0001| write-in candidate. | 0002| C. A person desiring to be a write-in candidate for | 0003| one of the offices listed in Subsection A of this section in | 0004| the primary election shall file with the proper filing officer | 0005| a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate. Such | 0006| declaration of intent shall be filed before 5:00 p.m. on the | 0007| second Tuesday in March. | 0008| D. A write-in vote shall be counted and canvassed | 0009| only if: | 0010| (1) the name written in is the name of a | 0011| declared write-in candidate and shows two initials and last | 0012| name; first name, middle initial or name and last name; first | 0013| and last name; or the full name as it appears on the | 0014| declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate and | 0015| misspellings of the above combinations that can be reasonably | 0016| determined by a majority of the members of the precinct board | 0017| to identify a declared write-in candidate; and | 0018| (2) the name is written in the proper slot on | 0019| the voting machine or on the proper line provided on an | 0020| absentee ballot or emergency paper ballot for write-in votes | 0021| for the office for which the candidate has filed a declaration | 0022| of intent. | 0023| E. At the time of filing the declaration of intent | 0024| to be a write-in candidate, the write-in candidate shall be | 0025| considered a candidate for all purposes and provisions relating | - 10 - 0001| to candidates in the Election Code, including the obligations | 0002| to report ~~[under]~~ pursuant to the Campaign Reporting Act, | 0003| except that he shall not be entitled to have his name printed | 0004| on the ballot. | 0005| F. No unopposed write-in candidate shall have his | 0006| nomination certified unless he receives at least the number of | 0007| write-in votes in the primary election as he would need | 0008| signatures on a nominating petition pursuant to the | 0009| requirements set out in Section 1-8-33 NMSA 1978. | 0010| G. A write-in vote shall be cast by writing in the | 0011| name. As used in this section, "write-in" does not include the | 0012| imprinting of any name by rubber stamp or similar device or the | 0013| use of preprinted stickers or labels." | 0014| Section 7. Section 1-8-48 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, | 0015| Chapter 322, Section 4, as amended by Laws 1993, Chapter 314, | 0016| Section 50 and also by Laws 1993, Chapter 316, Section 50) is | 0017| amended to read: | 0018| "1-8-48. INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES FOR GENERAL OR UNITED | 0019| STATES REPRESENTATIVE SPECIAL ELECTIONS--DECLARATION OF | 0020| INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY AND NOMINATING PETITION.-- | 0021| A. Nomination as an independent candidate shall be | 0022| made by filing a declaration of independent candidacy and a | 0023| nominating petition with the proper filing officer. | 0024| B. In making a declaration of independent | 0025| candidacy, the candidate for an office other than that of | - 11 - 0001| president or vice president shall submit a sworn statement in | 0002| the following form: | 0003| "DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY | 0004| I, _________________________ (candidate's name | 0005| on certificate of registration) being first duly | 0006| sworn, say that I reside at | 0007| _______________________________ in the county of | 0008| ____________________, New Mexico, and that I am a | 0009| voter of Precinct No. __________ of the county of | 0010| _______________, State of New Mexico; | 0011| I have declined to designate my party | 0012| affiliation as shown by my certificate of | 0013| registration and I have not changed such declination | 0014| subsequent to the date of issuance of the governor's | 0015| proclamation for the primary election in the year of | 0016| the general election at which I seek to be a | 0017| candidate; | 0018| I desire to become a candidate for the office | 0019| of _________________________, District____________ | 0020| at the general election to be held on the date set | 0021| by law for this year, and if the office be that of a | 0022| member of the legislature or public regulation | 0023| commission, that I actually reside within the | 0024| ~~[legislative]~~ district for which I declare my | 0025| candidacy; | - 12 - 0001| I will be eligible and legally qualified to | 0002| hold this office at the beginning of its term; | 0003| If a candidate for any office for which a | 0004| nominating petition is required, I am submitting | 0005| with this statement a nominating petition in the | 0006| form and manner as prescribed by the Election Code; | 0007| and | 0008| I make the foregoing affidavit under oath or | 0009| affirmation knowing that any false statement herein | 0010| constitutes a felony punishable under the criminal | 0011| laws of New Mexico. | 0012| __________________________________________________ | 0013| (Declarant) | 0014| __________________________________________________ | 0015| (Mailing Address) | 0016| __________________________________________________ | 0017| (Residence Address) | 0018| Subscribed and sworn to or affirmed before me this _____ day | 0019| of | 0020| _______________, ~~[19]~~ _____. | 0021| (month) (year) | 0022| _________________________ | 0023| (Notary Public) | 0024| My commission expires: | 0025| ______________________________". | - 13 - 0001| | 0002| C. The secretary of state shall prescribe and | 0003| furnish the form for the declaration of independent candidacy | 0004| for the office of president and vice president." | 0005| Section 8. Section 1-8-51 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, | 0006| Chapter 322, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read: | 0007| "1-8-51. INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES FOR GENERAL OR UNITED | 0008| STATES REPRESENTATIVE SPECIAL ELECTIONS--NOMINATING PETITIONS-- | 0009| REQUIRED NUMBER OF SIGNATURES.-- | 0010| A. The basis of percentage for the total number of | 0011| votes cast in each instance referred to in this section shall | 0012| be the total vote cast for governor at the last preceding | 0013| general election at which a governor was elected. | 0014| B. Nominating petitions for an independent | 0015| candidate for president of the United States shall be signed by | 0016| a number of voters equal to at least three percent of the total | 0017| number of votes cast in the state. | 0018| C. Nominating petitions for an independent | 0019| candidate for United States senator or any other statewide | 0020| elective office shall be signed by a number of voters equal to | 0021| at least three percent of the total number of votes cast in the | 0022| state. | 0023| D. Nominating petitions for an independent | 0024| candidate for United States representative shall be signed by a | 0025| number of voters equal to at least three percent of the total | - 14 - 0001| number of votes cast in the district. | 0002| E. Nominating petitions for an independent | 0003| candidate for a member of the legislature, public regulation | 0004| commission, district judge, district attorney, member of the | 0005| state board of education, magistrate or county office shall be | 0006| signed by a number of voters equal to at least three percent of | 0007| the total number of votes cast in the district, division or | 0008| county, as the case may be. | 0009| F. ~~[The]~~ A voter shall not sign a petition for | 0010| an independent candidate as provided in this section if he has | 0011| signed a petition for another independent candidate for the | 0012| same office." | 0013| |