New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 1 - GENERAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION › Chapter 10 - ELECTIONS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS › Part 12 - ABSENTEE VOTING › Section 1.10.12.15 - ELECTION BOARD, COUNTY CLERK AND COUNTY CANVASS BOARD DUTIES

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. An absent voter
				election board shall be created for the purpose of determining voter
				eligibility, counting and tabulating mailed and early voted ballots cast. The
				board shall be comprised of election board members in accordance with the
				Election Code, Section
				1-2-12 NMSA 1978 provided that the
				counting and tabulation of mailed ballots shall remain separate from early
				voted ballots.
(1) Pursuant to the Election
				Code, Section
				1-6-11 NMSA 1978, the mailed
				ballots shall be delivered along with all necessary supplies, including red
				pencils or red pens, to be used as a writing instrument, for absent voter
				election board members. Only the presiding judge shall be issued a black or
				blue ink pen for signing and filling out required documents.
(2) Before opening the outer envelope, the
				presiding judge and the election judges shall determine that the county clerk
				has verified the required information by reviewing the outer envelope for the
				presence of a signature and the presence of the last four digits of a social
				security number and by reviewing the clerk's confirmation of verification on
				the absentee ballot register. If the information under the privacy flap appears
				to need further review by the county clerk, the absent voter election board
				shall immediately notify the county clerk, and the county clerk shall verify
				the information under the privacy flap.
(3) The processing of mailed ballots shall be
				in accordance with the Election Code, Sections
				1-6-10 and
				1-6-14 NMSA 1978.
(a) A mailed ballot inner envelope containing
				two ballots shall be counted if the determination can be made that the outer
				envelope is signed by both voters, the absentee ballot register confirms the
				county clerk verified that both voters provided the last four digits of their
				social security numbers, the absentee ballot registered confirms the issuance
				of mailed ballots to the voters who signed, and it has been determined that the
				voters have not already voted in the election. Mailed ballot envelopes not in
				compliance with one or more of the above requirements shall be changed to
				"rejected" in the absentee ballot register, with the reason for
				rejection.
(b) A mailed ballot
				inner envelope containing no ballot shall be "accepted" if the outer envelope
				is signed by the voter, the absentee ballot register confirms the issuance of
				the ballot to the voter who signed the outer envelope, the absentee ballot
				register confirms the county clerk verified that the voter provided the last
				four digits of their social security number, and the voter has not voted in any
				other manner during the election. Mailed ballot envelopes not in compliance
				with one or more of the above requirements shall be changed to "rejected" in
				the absentee ballot register, with the reason for rejection.
(4) Pursuant to the Election Code,
				Subsections C and D of Section
				1-6-14 NMSA 1978, a mailed ballot
				envelope may be challenged by a lawfully appointed challenger. A voter who
				satisfies the reason for the affirmed challenge before the conclusion of the
				county canvass shall have their ballot accepted and counted. The voter's record
				on the absentee ballot register shall be changed from "rejected" to "accepted",
				and the notation "challenged-affirmed" on the mailed ballot envelope shall be
				crossed out, signed and dated by either the presiding judge of the absent voter
				election board or a member of the county canvassing board, dependent upon when
				the voter satisfies the reason for the affirmed challenge. If the ballot is
				hand tallied it shall be recorded in the mailed ballot hand tally counting
				group. If the ballot is tabulated by a voting tabulator, it shall be recorded
				in the mailed ballot machine counting group.
(5) A lawfully appointed challenger or
				watcher shall not be permitted to take pictures or otherwise make copies of
				documents containing protected personal information.
(6) A mailed ballot, processed as a
				provisional ballot, in a provisional ballot envelope, prescribed by the
				secretary of state because the first-time voter did not provide the required
				form of physical identification prior to the ballot issuance, shall be
				separated from all other mailed ballots and provided to the county clerk. The
				county clerk shall perform the required provisional qualification process to
				the ballots in accordance with the Election Code, Section
				1-6-14 NMSA 1978 and with 1.10.22
				NMAC.