2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 1 - Elections › Article 12 - Conduct of Elections › Section 1-12-31 - Conduct of election; disposition of ballot boxes and other election materials.

A. The following election returns and materials shall not be placed in the ballot box and shall be returned immediately to the county clerk along with the locked ballot box:
(1) the number on the numbered seal affixed to secure the ballot box or one ballot box key in an envelope addressed to the county clerk;
(2) one signature roster;
(3) one certificate of returns for the polling place;
(4) the envelope containing any provisional paper ballots cast at the polling place;
(5) the envelope containing any absentee or mailed ballots delivered to the polling place by the voter or an immediate family member of the voter;
(6) the envelope containing paper ballots that were not tabulated by the electronic vote tabulator;
(7) the envelope containing machine-tabulated paper ballots with write-in votes; and
(8) all unused election supplies not destroyed pursuant to the Election Code.
B. The removable media storage device shall not be placed in the ballot box and shall be returned immediately to the county clerk either by messenger or along with the locked ballot box.
C. The election judge of the party different from that of the presiding judge shall place the number on the numbered seal affixed to secure the ballot box or the other ballot box key in the envelope addressed to the district court and immediately mail it to the district court.
History:
1953 Comp., § 3-12-55, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 240, § 291; 1977, ch. 222, § 41; 1987, ch. 249, § 37; 1987, ch. 327, § 16; 1991, ch. 105, § 32; 2009, ch. 150, § 17; 2011, ch. 137, § 96; 2015, ch. 145, § 65; 2019, ch. 212, § 114.
ANNOTATIONS
The 2019 amendment,
effective April 3, 2019, revised the list of items that are required to be returned to the county clerk along with the locked ballot box; in Subsection A, Paragraph A(1), added "the number on the numbered seal affixed to secure the ballot box or", in Paragraph A(3), after "one", deleted "tally sheet; and", and added "certificate of returns for the polling place", added new Paragraphs A(4) through A(7) and redesignated former Paragraph A(4) as Paragraph A(8); and in Subsection C, after "the presiding judge shall place", added "the number on the numbered seal affixed to secure the ballot box or".
The 2015 amendment,
effective July 1, 2015, provided that removable media storage devices are not to be placed in the ballot box but should be returned immediately to the county clerk; in Paragraph (3) of Subsection A, after "sheet", added "and"; in Paragraph (4) of Subsection A, after "Code", deleted "and"; redesignated Paragraph (5) of Subsection A as new Subsection B, and after "storage device", added "shall not be placed in the ballot box and shall be returned immediately to the county clerk either by messenger or along with the locked ballot box"; and redesignated former Subsection B as Subsection C.
The 2011 amendment,
effective July 1, 2011, required that election materials be locked in the ballot box; removed the registration binder and machine cartridges for electronic vote tabulators from the list of election materials; and added removable media storage devices to the list of election materials.
The 2009 amendment,
effective June 19, 2009, in Subsection A(6), after "electronic", deleted "or marksense machine" and added "vote tabulator"; and in Subsection B, at the beginning of the sentence, deleted "In the event emergency paper ballots have been voted".
The 1991 amendment,
effective April 2, 1991, in Subsection A, substituted "sheet" for "book" in Paragraph (3), added Paragraph (6) and made a related stylistic change.