Opinion ID: 6472358
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The State Canvassing Board’s Requirement of an Advance of the Full Payment of Recount and Recheck Costs is Capable of Repetition Yet Evading Review

Text: {29} While the substantial public interest in this issue allows us to reach the merits of this case, we choose to address the second exception to mootness, issues capable of repetition yet evading review, because of the Legislature’s action in this case. The State Canvassing Board’s act of conditioning a recount or recheck on the advance payment of the entire estimated costs of the recount and recheek is capable of repetition yet evading review for two reasons: (1) the short statutory time frame for election contests, recounts, and rechecks, as we saw in the 2000 presidential election, make judicial review of error or fraud difficult; and (2) the Legislature’s amendment to Section 1-14^15(B) is unconstitutional and the 2001 version of the statute is still effective, therefore, the State Canvassing Board’s actions under the 2001 version of Section 1-14-15(B) may be repeated. We squarely address the second reason in our review of the constitutionality of the 2005 amendment, in part IV(B) and (C)(1). {30} In Gunaji, this Court found the human error in the election process was capable of repetition yet evading review because terms of office may expire before this Court could address whether errors had occurred. 2001-NMSC-028, ¶ 10, 130 N.M. 734, 31 P.3d 1008. In this case, Section 1-14-14(A) allows “any candidate for any office for which the state canvassing board or county canvassing board issues a certificate of nomination or election” to petition for a recount and recheck. Therefore, any candidate could be a future applicant in the same position as Petitioners in this case. Because of the broad applicability of Section 1-14-14(A) and the State Canvassing Board’s belief in its authority to condition a recount or recheek on the entire estimated costs of the recount or recheck, the State Canvassing Board’s action is capable of repetition. {31} The term of office has not expired, as it did in Gunaji, but the short time frame provided for election contests, recounts, and rechecks also make Petitioners’ claim an issue capable of evading review. Unlike the 2000 presidential election contest, this Court is not faced with the pressure of a decision that will change the result of the election, as were the United States Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court. However, our Election Code also has numerous deadlines that future protestants to an election must meet that could place this Court in a situation where time would be of the essence. See NMSA 1978, § 1-13-13(A) (1979) (requiring county canvassing boards to declare results ten days from the election date); NMSA 1978, § 1-13-15 (1977) (requiring the state canvassing board to declare the results for elections on the third Tuesday after each election); NMSA 1978, § 1-14-3 (1971) (requiring that a complaint to contest an election must come no later than thirty days from the issuance of the certificate of election). {32} As a result, we reach the merits of Petitioners’ appeal because the State Canvassing Board’s action of conditioning a future petitioner’s application for a recount or recheck on the full estimated costs of the recount or recheck is capable of repetition yet evading review.