2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 1 - Elections › Article 12 - Conduct of Elections › Section 1-12-65 - Paper ballots; counting and tallying procedures.

A. The presiding judge and the election judges, assisted by the election clerks, shall count the number of paper ballots that were not tabulated by the electronic vote tabulator, write the number of such ballots on each copy of the certificate of returns for that polling place and place the paper ballots that were not tabulated by the electronic vote tabulator in an envelope provided for that purpose. The envelope shall not be locked in the ballot box but shall instead be sealed with either a numbered seal or a locking device and transmitted directly to the county clerk for machine-tabulation or hand-tallying of the ballots.
B. The presiding judge and the election judges, assisted by the election clerks, shall count the number of machine-tabulated paper ballots with write-in votes, write the number of such ballots on each copy of the certificate of returns for that polling place and place those paper ballots with write-in votes in an envelope provided for that purpose. The envelope shall not be locked in the ballot box but shall instead be sealed with either a numbered seal or a locking device and transmitted directly to the county clerk for manual counting of the write-in votes.
C. The tallying of paper ballots that were not tabulated by the electronic vote tabulator at the polling place and the counting of ballots with write-in votes shall be in accordance with procedures prescribed by the secretary of state.
D. If the county clerk receives a sealed envelope pursuant to Subsection A or B of this section and the absent voter election board has not adjourned, the sealed envelope shall be logged and transmitted to the absent voter election board to be opened and tallied immediately. If the sealed envelope is received by the county clerk after the absent voter election board has adjourned, the sealed envelope shall be logged and transmitted to be opened and tallied by an election board appointed to assist in the preparation of the county canvass report.
History:
1953 Comp., § 3-12-99, enacted by Laws 1977, ch. 222, § 68; 1991, ch. 105, § 37; 2009, ch. 150, § 28; 2019, ch. 212, § 117; 2023, ch. 39, § 65.
ANNOTATIONS
Cross references.
— For marking emergency paper ballots,
see
1-12-53 NMSA 1978.
The 2023 amendment,
effective June 16, 2023, revised certain counting and tallying procedures; in the section heading, deleted "Emergency situations"; in Subsections A and B, after "but shall instead be", added "sealed with either a numbered seal or a locking device and; and added Subsection D. effective June 16, 2023, revised certain counting and tallying procedures; in the section heading, deleted "Emergency situations"; in Subsections A and B, after "but shall instead be", added "sealed with either a numbered seal or a locking device and; and added Subsection D.
The 2019 amendment,
effective April 3, 2019, revised the procedure for counting paper ballots when the paper ballots were not tabulated by the electronic vote tabulator; in Subsection A, after "shall count", deleted "and tally", after the next occurrence of "the", added "number of", after "electronic vote tabulator", deleted "and certify the results of the election on the form on the tally sheet setting opposite the name of each candidate in figures the total number of votes cast for the candidate, and they shall set forth in the spaces provided therefor the total number of votes cast for and against each constitutional amendment and other questions. Paper ballots not marked as required by the Election Code shall not be counted. The precinct board shall sign the tally sheet certificate" and added "write the number of such ballots on each copy of the certificate of returns for that polling place and place the paper ballots that were not tabulated by the electronic vote tabulator in an envelope provided for that purpose. The envelope shall not be locked in the ballot box but shall instead be transmitted directly to the county clerk for machine-tabulation or hand-tallying of the ballots."; added a new Subsection B and redesignated former Subsection B as Subsection C; and in Subsection C, deleted "counting and", and after "paper ballots", deleted "in an emergency situation" and added "that were not tabulated by the electronic vote tabulator at the polling place and the counting of ballots with write-in votes".
The 2009 amendment,
effective June 19, 2009, in Subsection A, after "tally the", deleted "emergency"; after "paper ballots", added "that were not tabulated by the electronic vote tabulator"; and at the beginning of the second sentence, deleted "Emergency"; and in Subsection B, after "tallying of", deleted "emergency"; and after "paper ballots", added "in emergency situations".
The 1991 amendment,
effective April 2, 1991, in Subsection A, in the first sentence, substituted "on the tally sheet" for "in the tally books", deleted "words and" following "candidate in" and substituted "and against" for "or against" near the end and, in the third sentence, substituted "sheet" for "books".
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references.
— 26 Am. Jur. 2d Elections § 385 et seq.
Excess or illegal ballots, treatment of, when it is not known for which candidate or upon which side of a proposition they were cast, 155 A.L.R. 677.
29 C.J.S. Elections §§ 221 to 240.