NMSA 1-22-3.1. Municipal officer election day; procedures; exceptions

1-22-3.1. Municipal officer election day; procedures; exceptions. A. All municipalities shall elect their municipal officers pursuant to this section on the municipal officer election day, which is the first Tuesday in March of even-numbered years, unless the municipality has opted in to the election of its municipal officers at the regular local election. B. Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, any municipality may by ordinance opt in to the election of its municipal officers in the regular local election if the municipality passes an ordinance and files the ordinance with the secretary of state no later than June 30 of the year in which the next regular local election is scheduled. The ordinance shall also determine if the terms of office for current office holders will be lengthened or shortened to correspond with the new election date. Following the second regular local election at which its municipal officers are elected at the regular local election, a municipality that has passed an ordinance pursuant to this subsection may rescind the ordinance opting in to the election of its municipal officers in the regular local election and file the rescission with the secretary of state no later than June 30 of the year in which the next regular local election is scheduled. C. A home rule municipality that pursuant to its charter is implementing a form of required voter identification that supersedes the provisions of Section 1-1-24 NMSA 1978 shall not elect its municipal officers at the regular local election. D. For municipalities that elect their officers on municipal officer election day: (1) all provisions of the Local Election Act as supplemented by the Election Code apply, except as provided in this section; (2) for a municipal officer election, when the Local Election Act or the Election Code references a process or procedure to be conducted by the county clerk in the administration of a regular local election, the process or procedure shall instead be fulfilled and administered by the municipal clerk; (3) for a special local election, the municipal clerk shall fulfill the duties of the county clerk pursuant to the Special Election Act [Chapter 1, Article 24 NMSA 1978] in the conduct of administering a special local election by the municipality, unless the municipal clerk has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the county clerk to administer the special local election on behalf of the municipality; (4) for a recall election, notwithstanding the laws of any municipality to the contrary, the county clerk shall at all times conduct a municipal recall election pursuant to the provisions of the Recall Act [Chapter 1, Article 25 NMSA 1978]; (5) in an election administered by the municipal clerk, the secretary of state shall provide to the municipal clerk access to the list of voters of the municipality through the voter registration electronic management system; (6) the provisions of the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act [Chapter 1, Article 6B NMSA 1978] apply to an election administered by the municipal clerk; provided that for the municipal officer election, military-overseas ballots shall be sent to federal qualified electors beginning thirty-five days before the election; (7) upon the approval of the governing body of a municipality, a local government ballot question may appear on the ballot for an election conducted pursuant to this section at the request of a county, school or special district; (8) the governing body of a municipality may act in relation to the duties of the board of county commissioners set forth in Section 1-3-2 NMSA 1978 in setting polling places and consolidating precincts for the municipal officer election; provided that if the governing body of a municipality does not pass a resolution as provided by Section 1-3-2 NMSA 1978, the polling places set by the board of county commissioners within the boundaries of the municipality shall be used for municipal officer elections; (9) the provisions of Section 1-22-3.2 NMSA 1978 apply to a municipality conducting elections pursuant to this section; provided that the adjustment of dates in the laws of the municipality shall accord with the schedule imposed by the Election Code for the conduct of the municipal officer election; and (10) a municipality that elects its municipal officers pursuant to this section shall bear the costs of administering the municipal officer election. E. Candidate procedures for municipalities that elect their officers on municipal officer election day are as follows: (1) the secretary of state shall, in accordance with the provisions of Section 1-22-4 NMSA 1978, issue the proclamation calling for the municipal officer election for all municipalities conducting the election of their officers pursuant to this section. The municipal clerk shall post those portions of the proclamation relevant to the municipality and publish what is posted in accordance with the schedule and procedures provided in Subsection D of Section 1-22-4 NMSA 1978, and each county clerk shall post the entire proclamation on the county clerk's website along with a notice of which municipalities in the county are conducting elections pursuant to this section; (2) each declaration of candidacy shall be delivered for filing in person by the eligible candidate or by a person acting by virtue of written authorization. The proper filing officer shall not accept for filing from any one individual more than one declaration of candidacy; (3) declarations of candidacy for municipal officer elections shall be filed between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the fifty-sixth day before the election. No name shall be placed on the ballot until the person has been notified in writing by the municipal clerk that the certificate of registration of the candidate on file with the county clerk, the declaration of candidacy and the petition, if required, are in proper order and that the person, based on those documents, is qualified to be a candidate. The municipal clerk shall deliver the notice to the person no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday following the filing date; (4) write-in candidates for municipal officer elections shall file declarations of candidacy between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the forty-ninth day before the election. No space shall appear on the ballot for a write-in candidate until the person has been notified in writing by the municipal clerk that the certificate of registration of the candidate on file with the county clerk and the declaration of candidacy are in proper order and that the person, based on those documents, is qualified to be a declared write-in candidate. The municipal clerk shall deliver the notice to the person no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday following the filing date; (5) any voter may challenge the candidacy of any person seeking election to municipal office for the reason that the person does not meet the requirements for the office sought by filing a petition in the district court within seven days after the deadline for filing a declaration of candidacy. The district court shall hear and render a decision on the matter within ten days after the filing of the petition. The decision of the district court may be appealed to the supreme court within five days after the decision is rendered. The supreme court shall hear and render a decision on the appeal forthwith; and (6) the municipal clerk shall certify in writing the ballot for each precinct in the municipality containing the name of each candidate who has been qualified, a space for any offices with a declared write-in candidate and any ballot questions to be voted on at the municipal officer election. The order of candidates for the same office in a municipal officer election shall follow the randomization method established by rule by the secretary of state for the regular local election. Each ballot certified pursuant to this paragraph shall, no later than forty-two days before the election, be sent to the ballot printer or other person preparing the ballot for use by the voters and a certified copy sent to the secretary of state. A copy of each certification shall be kept on file in the office of the secretary of state for twelve months, after which the ballot certification shall be transferred to be a permanent record at the state records center. F. Except for municipalities that provide for a top-two runoff election pursuant to Section 1- 22-16 NMSA 1978, the term of office for municipalities holding elections pursuant to this section shall begin the first day of the month following the election. For municipalities that provide for a top-two runoff election, the term of office for municipalities holding elections pursuant to this section shall begin the first day of the month following the runoff election. G. When the Municipal Code: (1) provides for vacancies in municipal office to be filled by election at the next regular local election, the vacancies shall instead be filled by election at the next municipal officer election; or (2) references a ballot question that may be placed on the regular local election or general election ballot, the reference shall also permit placing the ballot question on the municipal officer election ballot. History: Laws 2018, ch. 79, § 34; 2019, ch. 212, § 143.