2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 1 - Elections › Article 2 - Election Officers and Boards › Section 1-2-22 - Challengers, watchers and election observers; training; qualifications; restrictions.

A. Before accepting an appointment or entering into service as a challenger or watcher for an election, a person shall attend a training session in advance of that election. The training shall be provided by the county clerk based on a uniform curriculum provided by the secretary of state. The county clerk shall offer the training between thirty-six and twenty-nine days before the election and at least once per week prior to the election through the Thursday before election day. At the end of the training session, each person in attendance shall sign a form provided by the secretary of state indicating an understanding of the permitted and prohibited activities by challengers and watchers. The county clerk shall provide a certificate to each person who completes the training in advance of an election and shall keep and maintain in the office of the county clerk a list of those voters who have completed the training in advance of each election. The list shall be available to be viewed in the office of the county clerk at any time during the regular hours and days of business beginning with the first day following the first training for an election and concluding with the adjournment of the state or county canvass board for that election, whichever is later. The training shall be open to any interested person, and the county clerk shall post notice of each training at least four days before the training is to be held.
B. Challengers shall be voters of a precinct located in the county to which the challenger is appointed. Watchers shall be voters of a precinct in this state.
C. A person shall not be qualified for appointment or service as a challenger, watcher or election observer if the person:
(1) is a candidate for any office to be voted for at the election;
(2) is a spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, brother or sister of any candidate to be voted for at the election;
(3) is married to a parent, child, brother or sister of any candidate to be voted for at the election or is the parent of the spouse or domestic partner of any candidate to be voted for at the election;
(4) is a sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal or state or municipal police officer;
(5) has accepted an appointment to serve as an election board member in the same election;
(6) has been removed from service as a challenger, watcher, election observer or county canvass observer in the current or immediately preceding election cycle by unanimous vote of the presiding judge and election judges of an election board for violating the permitted or prohibited activities of challengers, watchers, election observers or county canvass observers; provided that the election board detailed with reasonable specificity the conduct that led to the violation on a form prescribed by the secretary of state and the form is retained by the county clerk; or
(7) for challengers and watchers, has not completed the training and received a certificate from the county clerk pursuant to Subsection A of this section.
History:
1953 Comp., § 3-2-20, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 240, § 41; 1975, ch. 255, § 22; 1987, ch. 249, § 4; 2011, ch. 137, § 21; 2023, ch. 39, § 15.
ANNOTATIONS
The 2023 amendment,
effective June 16, 2023, established mandatory training for challengers and watchers, revised the qualifications for service as challengers, watchers and election observers; in the section heading, added "training"; deleted "Challengers and watchers shall be voters of a precinct located in that county to which they are appointed. No."; added new Subsections A and B and redesignated former Subsections A through D as Paragraphs C(1) through C(4), respectively; and in Subsection C, Paragraphs C(2) and C(4), after "spouse", added "domestic partner", and added Paragraphs C(5) through C(7).
The 2011 amendment,
effective July 1, 2011, provided criteria that disqualifies challengers, watchers and elections observers from appointment or service.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references.
— 25 Am. Jur. 2d Elections § 90.
29 C.J.S. Elections § 58.