2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 1 - Elections › Article 6 - Absentee Voting › Section 1-6-8 - Mailed ballot envelopes.

A. The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of, procure and distribute to each county clerk a supply of:
(1) official inner envelopes for use in sealing the completed mailed ballot;
(2) official mailing envelopes for use in returning the official inner envelope to the county clerk, which shall be postage-paid; provided that only the official mailing envelope for absentee ballots in a political party primary shall contain a designation of party affiliation;
(3) mailed ballot instructions, describing proper methods for completion of the ballot and returning it; and
(4) official transmittal envelopes for use by the county clerk in sending mailed ballot materials.
B. Official transmittal envelopes and official mailing envelopes for transmission of mailed ballot materials to and from the county clerk and voters shall be printed in black in substantially similar form. All official inner envelopes shall be printed in black.
C. The reverse of each official mailing envelope shall contain a form to be executed under penalty of perjury by the voter completing the mailed ballot. The form shall identify the voter and shall contain the pre-printed name of the voter to whom the ballot was sent and the following statement to be affirmed by the voter: "I attest under penalty of perjury that I am the voter identified on this official mailing envelope and that I have not and will not vote any other ballot in this election.". The official mailing envelope shall contain a space for the voter to record the voter's signature and the last four digits of the voter's social security number, which shall constitute the required voter identification. Under the space for the voter's signature shall be the following statement: "NOTICE: The only people who may lawfully mail or deliver this ballot to the county clerk are the voter, a member of the voter's immediate family or household, the voter's caregiver or a person with whom the voter has a continuing personal relationship.". The envelope shall have a security flap to cover this information.
History:
1953 Comp., § 3-6-8, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 240, § 134; 1977, ch. 269, § 6; 1983, ch. 232, § 2; 1987, ch. 327, § 11; 1993, ch. 20, § 2; 1997, ch. 201, § 2; 1999, ch. 267, § 11; 2005, ch. 270, § 46; 2008, ch. 59, § 6; 2015, ch. 145, § 46; 2019, ch. 212, § 69; 2023, ch. 39, § 27.
ANNOTATIONS
Cross references.
— For the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act,
see
42 U.S.C.S. § 1973ff et seq.
The 2023 amendment,
effective June 16, 2023, revised the required contents for official mailing envelopes, for use in returning mailed ballots; and in Subsection C, after "form to be executed", added "under penalty of perjury", after "shall contain", added "the pre-printed name of the voter to whom the ballot was sent and", after "the following statement", added "to be affirmed by the voter: "I attest under penalty of perjury that I am the voter identified on this official mailing envelope and that", and after "record the voter's", deleted "name, registration address and year of birth" and added "signature and the last four digits of the voter's social security number, which shall constitute the required voter identification. Under the space for the voter's signature shall be the following statement: 'NOTICE: The only people who may lawfully mail or deliver this ballot to the county clerk are the voter, a member of the voter's immediate family or household, the voter's caregiver or a person with whom the voter has a continuing personal relationship.'".
The 2019 amendment,
effective April 3, 2019, changed "absentee ballot" to mailed ballot", revised the form to be executed by the voter completing the mailed ballot, and removed a provision prohibiting compensation or reward for giving or withholding a vote; in Subsection A, Paragraph A(2), after "county clerk,", added "which shall be postage-paid"; and in Subsection C, after "I", added "have not and", after "will not vote", deleted "in this election" and added "any", after "other", deleted "than by the enclosed", and after "ballot", deleted "I will not receive or offer any compensation or reward for giving or withholding any vote" and added "in this election".
The 2015 amendment,
effective July 1, 2015, removed the requirement that absentee ballot envelopes must be printed in the form prescribed by the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; in Subsection B, deleted "Official transmittal envelopes and official mailing envelopes for transmission of absentee ballot materials to and from the county clerk and federal qualified electors shall be printed in the form prescribed by the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act."
The 2008 amendment,
effective May 14, 2008, in Subsection D, deleted "unique identifier" and required the mailing envelop to contain space for the voter's name and registration address.
The 2005 amendment,
effective July 1, 2005, added Subsection D to provide that the official mailing envelope shall contain a space for the voter's unique identifier, year of birth and name and have a flap to cover that information.
The 1999 amendment,
effective June 18, 1999, substituted "voter" for "person" twice in Subsection C.
The 1997 amendment,
effective June 20, 1997, added the language beginning "provided, the official mailing" at the end of Paragraph A(2).
The 1993 amendment,
effective June 18, 1993, deleted "under oath" following "executed" in the first sentence of Subsection C.