2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 1 - Elections › Article 8 - Nominations and Primary Elections › Section 1-8-36.1 - Primary Election Law; write-in candidates.

A. Write-in candidates are permitted in the primary election only for the offices of United States representative, members of the legislature, district judges, district attorneys, public education commission, magistrates and any office voted upon by all voters of the state.
B. A person may be a write-in candidate only for nomination by the major political party with which the person is affiliated as shown by the certificate of registration, and such person shall have the same qualifications to be a candidate in the primary election for the political party for which the person is a write-in candidate.
C. A person desiring to be a write-in candidate for one of the offices listed in Subsection A of this section in the primary election shall file with the proper filing officer a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, accompanied by a nominating petition containing the same number of signatures required of other candidates for major party nomination for the same office. Such declaration of intent shall be filed between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday in March.
D. A person shall not be a declared write-in candidate until the person has been notified in writing by the proper filing officer that the certificate of registration on file, the declaration of candidacy and the nominating petition, if required, are in proper order and that the person, based on those documents, is qualified to be a candidate. The proper filing officer shall mail the notice by the Friday following the filing date. The determination by the proper filing officer that a person is a declared write-in candidate is subject to the provisions of Section 1-8-18 NMSA 1978.
E. If a person is notified by the proper filing officer that the person is not qualified to be a write-in candidate, the person may challenge that decision by filing a petition with the district court within ten days of the notification. The district court shall hear and render a decision on the matter within ten days after the petition is filed. 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.
F. A write-in candidate shall be considered a candidate for all purposes and provisions relating to candidates in the Election Code, including the obligations to report pursuant to the Campaign Reporting Act [1-22A-1 to 1-22A-10 NMSA 1978], except that the write-in candidate's name shall not be printed on the ballot.
History:
1978 Comp., § 1-8-36.1, enacted by Laws 1981, ch. 156, § 1; 1993, ch. 314, § 48; 1993, ch. 316, § 48; 1994, ch. 2, § 2; 1998, ch. 36, § 6; 2009, ch. 150, § 7; 2011, ch. 137, § 59; 2019, ch. 212, § 95; 2020, ch. 9, § 6; 2023, ch. 39, § 51.
ANNOTATIONS
Cross references.
— For write-in candidates in general election,
see
1-12-19.1 NMSA 1978.
The 2023 amendment,
effective June 16, 2023, established a petition signature, qualification, and challenge process for write-in candidates filing to appear on the primary election ballot; in Subsection C, after "intent to be a write-in candidate", added "accompanied by a nominating petition containing the same number of signatures required of other candidates for major party nomination for the same office"; in Subsection D, deleted "At the time of filing the declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, the" and added the remainder of the subsection; and added new Subsection E.
The 2020 amendment,
effective January 1, 2023, removed the public regulation commission from the write-in qualifications for certain offices; and in Subsection A, after "district attorneys", deleted "public regulation commission".
Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 6 amended 1-8-36.1 NMSA 1978, effective January 1, 2023, contingent upon the adoption of Laws 2019, SJC/SRC/SJR Nos. 1 and 4, Constitutional Amendment 1, at the general election held on November 3, 2020. Constitutional Amendment 1 was adopted by a vote of 445,655 for and 355,471 against.
The 2019 amendment,
effective April 3, 2019, revised the provisions related to write-in candidates; deleted Subsection D and redesignated former Subsection E as Subsection D; and deleted former Subsections F and G.
The 2011 amendment,
effective July 1, 2011, in Subsection C, required that a declaration of intent be filed on the third Tuesday in March.
The 2009 amendment,
effective June 19, 2009, in Subsection A, deleted "state board of education" and added "public education commission"; in Paragraph (2) of Subsection D, after "name is written", deleted "in the proper slot on the voting machine or"; after "proper line provided on", deleted "an absentee ballot or emergency paper" and after "declaration of intent", added the remainder of the sentence; in Subsection E, deleted "he shall not be entitled to have his" added "the write-in candidate's"; and after "name", added "shall not be"; in Subsection F, deleted "he" in three places, added "the write-in candidate's"; and in Subsection G, after "writing in the name", added "and following the directions for casting a vote for the write-in candidate".
The 1998 amendment,
effective March 6, 1998, inserted ", public regulation commission" in Subsection A and substituted "pursuant to" for "under" in Subsection B.
The 1994 amendment,
effective January 31, 1994, in Subsection C, deleted former Paragraphs (1) and (2), relating to the time for filing a declaration of intent, inserted "one of" in the first sentence and substituted "before 5:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday in March" for "as follows" in the second sentence.
The 1993 amendment,
effective June 18, 1993, substituted "certificate" for "affidavit" in Subsection B.
Write-in procedure is constitutionally acceptable
alternative to the nominating petition procedures.
Dillon v. King
, 1974-NMSC-096, 87 N.M. 79, 529 P.2d 745 (decided under former 1-8-36 NMSA 1978).
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references.
— Elections: validity of state or local legislative ban on write-in votes, 69 A.L.R.4th 948.