NMSA 1-4-48. State-agency-based voter registration program; established;

1-4-48. State-agency-based voter registration program; established; human services department [health care authority department]. A. The secretary of state shall adopt and publish in accordance with the State Rules Act [Chapter 14, Article 4 NMSA 1978] rules for the administration of a state-agency-based voter registration program. The rules shall provide for distribution of voter registration forms, provisions for the acceptance of voter registration forms and procedures for reporting voter registration activity in accordance with the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993. B. Voter registration shall be made available at all state agencies providing public assistance or services to people with disabilities. The secretary of state may designate other state and local public offices to provide voter registration services with the agreement of those offices. C. Each state agency participating in the voter registration program shall maintain sufficient records for the secretary of state to comply with federal voter registration reporting requirements and the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002. Any records maintained by a state agency regarding voter registration activities in that agency are confidential and shall not be released as public records. D. Any voter registration made or accepted at a state agency pursuant to this section shall be transmitted to the appropriate registration officer within ten calendar days. E. A state agency employee or agency contractor who participates in the voter registration process may not intentionally influence the prospective registrant in the selection of political party, or independent status, by word or act. A state agency employee or agency contractor who participates in the voter registration process may not reveal the existence of or the nature of the voter registration to anyone other than a registration officer. F. The human services department [health care authority department] shall develop procedures to be approved by the secretary of state to ensure that each benefit program administered by the department appropriately ensures that qualified electors receiving benefits are offered the opportunity to register to vote or update an existing certificate of registration without duplication of information contained by the department or by the secretary of state. No later than the last day of August of each calendar year, the human services department [health care authority department] shall issue an annual report detailing implementation of the requirements of this subsection. The report shall be sent to the legislative council service, the secretary of state and each county clerk. G. If a person who is not a qualified elector becomes registered to vote pursuant to this section, the person's registration shall be canceled and the person shall be deemed to have never registered. History: 1978 Comp., § 1-4-48, enacted by Laws 1995, ch. 198, § 13; 2003, ch. 356, § 14; 2023, ch. 84, § 9.