HOUSE BILL 223

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

John Block and Stefani Lord and Jimmy G. Mason

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO ELECTIONS; REQUIRING ALL VOTERS TO PRESENT IDENTIFICATION BEFORE VOTING; PROVIDING FOR FREE IDENTIFICATION CARDS TO BE ISSUED BY THE MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION OF THE TAXATION AND REVENUE DEPARTMENT; PROVIDING FOR XEROGRAPHIC COPIES OF A VOTER'S IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT; AMENDING, REPEALING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Election Code is enacted

to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] VOTER IDENTIFICATION--PROVISION OF

XEROGRAPHIC COPIES.--At the request of a voter, the state shall provide at no charge a xerographic copy of the voter's required voter identification document when the voter presents the document during normal business hours at any city, county or state government office that is capable of making such copies."

     SECTION 2. Section 1-1-24 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2005, Chapter 270, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:

     "1-1-24. REQUIRED VOTER IDENTIFICATION.--As used in the Election Code, "required voter identification" means: [any of the following forms of identification as chosen by the voter:

          A. a physical form of identification, which may be:

                (1) an original or copy of a current and valid photo identification with or without an address, which address is not required to match the voter's certificate of registration; or

                (2) an original or copy of a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student identification card or other government document, including identification issued by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo, that shows the name and address of the person, the address of which is not required to match the voter's certificate of registration; or

          B. a verbal or written statement by the voter of the voter's name, registration address and year of birth; provided, however, that the statement of the voter's name need not contain the voter's middle initial or suffix]

          A. for a voter voting in-person, a current driver's license or identification card issued by the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department; or

          B. for a voter voting absentee by mail, a current driver's license or identification card issued by the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department or the voter's social security number."

     SECTION 3. Section 1-4-5.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 314, Section 7 and Laws 1993, Chapter 316, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:

     "1-4-5.1. METHOD OF REGISTRATION--FORM.--

          A. A qualified elector may apply for registration using the paper form by mail, in the office of the secretary of state or county clerk or with a registration agent or officer.

          B. A person may request certificate of registration forms from the secretary of state or any county clerk in person, by telephone or by mail for that person or for other persons.

          C. A qualified elector who wishes to register to vote shall fill out completely and sign the certificate of registration and provide a copy of the required voter identification. The qualified elector may seek the assistance of any person in completing the certificate of registration.

          D. A qualified elector who has filed for an order of protection pursuant to the provisions of the Family Violence Protection Act and who presents a copy of that order from a state or tribal court to the registration officer shall be referred to the confidential address program administered by the secretary of state pursuant to the Confidential Substitute Address Act.

          E. Completed certificates of registration may be mailed or presented in person by the registrant or any other person to the secretary of state, to the county clerk of the county in which the registrant resides or to any other county clerk in this state.

          F. If the registrant wishes to vote in the next election, the completed and signed certificate of registration shall be delivered or mailed and postmarked within the time frame provided in Subsection A of Section 1-4-8 NMSA 1978.

          G. Within one business day after receipt of a certificate of registration, the secretary of state shall send the certificate to the county clerk in the county where the qualified elector resides. Within one business day after receipt of a certificate of registration of another county, a county clerk shall send the certificate of registration to the county clerk in the county where the qualified elector resides.

          H. Only when the certificate of registration is properly filled out, signed by the qualified elector and accepted for filing by the county clerk as evidenced by the county clerk's signature or stamp and the date of acceptance thereon shall it constitute an official public record of the registration of the qualified elector. A qualified elector complies with a voter registration deadline established in the Election Code when a properly filled-out voter registration certificate has been received by a county clerk or the secretary of state, regardless of the date the certificate is processed.

          I. The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of the certificate of registration, which form shall be a postpaid mail-in format and shall be printed in Spanish and English. The certificate of registration form shall be clear and understandable to the average person and shall include brief but sufficient instructions to enable the qualified elector to complete the form without assistance. The form shall also include:

                (1) the question "Are you a citizen of the United States of America?" and boxes for the applicant to check to indicate whether the applicant is or is not a citizen;

                (2) the statement "If you checked 'no', do not complete this form."; and

                [(3) a statement informing the applicant that:

                     (a) if the form is submitted by mail by the applicant and the applicant is registering for the first time in New Mexico, the applicant must submit with the form a copy of: 1) a photo identification issued by a government or educational institution; or 2) a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student identification card or other government document, including identification issued by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo, that shows the name and current address of the applicant; and

                     (b) if the applicant does not submit the required documentary identification, the applicant will be required to do so when voting in person or absentee; and

                (4)] (3) a statement requiring the applicant to swear or affirm that the information supplied by the applicant is true."

     SECTION 4. Section 1-6-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 130, as amended) is amended to read:

     "1-6-4. MAILED BALLOT APPLICATION.--

          A. In a statewide election, application by a voter for a mailed ballot shall be made only on the official form approved by the secretary of state or its online equivalent accessed through a website authorized by the secretary of state. The form shall identify the applicant and contain information to establish the applicant's qualification for issuance of a mailed ballot under the Absent Voter Act.

          B. Each application on a paper form for a mailed ballot shall be signed by the applicant and shall require the applicant's printed name, registration address, [and] year of birth and required voter identification. When submitted by the voter, the county clerk shall accept an application for a mailed ballot pursuant to this subsection regardless of whether the application for a mailed ballot is delivered to the county clerk on paper or by electronic means. When submitted by a third party, the county clerk shall not accept an application for a mailed ballot pursuant to this subsection if the application for a mailed ballot is delivered by electronic means.

          C. The secretary of state shall allow a voter to submit an online application for a mailed ballot through a website authorized by the secretary of state; provided that the voter shall have a current [or expired] New Mexico driver's license or state identification card issued by the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department. An online request for a mailed ballot shall contain all of the information that is required for a paper form. The voter shall also provide the person's full New Mexico driver's license number, [or] state identification card number or social security number.

          D. When a voter requests a mailed ballot pursuant to this section, the voter shall mark the box associated with the following statement, which shall be included as part of the online mailed ballot request form:

     "By clicking the boxes below, I swear or affirm all of the following:

          [ ] I am the person whose name and identifying information is provided on this form and I desire to request a mailed ballot to vote in the state of New Mexico; and

          [ ] All of the information that I have provided on this form is true and correct as of the date I am submitting this form.".

          E. Online applications for mailed ballots shall retain the dates of submission by the qualified elector and of acceptance by the county clerk. For purposes of deadlines contained in the Election Code, the time and date of the submission by the voter shall be considered the time and date when the application for a mailed ballot is received by the county clerk.

          [F. New registrants who registered for the first time in this state by mail and at that time did not provide acceptable documentary identification as required by federal law shall be informed of the need to comply with federal identification requirements when returning the requested ballot and notified that if the registrant votes for the first time in New Mexico by mail and does not follow the instructions for returning the required documentary identification, the registrant waives the right to secrecy in that mailed ballot. The secretary of state shall issue rules to exempt voters from submitting identification only as required by federal law and shall review and, if necessary, update these rules no later than March 15 of even-numbered years.

          G.] F. A person who willfully and with knowledge and intent to deceive or mislead any voter, election board, canvassing board, county clerk or other election official and who falsifies any information on an absentee ballot request form or who affixes a signature or mark other than the person's own on a mailed ballot request form is guilty of a fourth degree felony."

     SECTION 5. Section 1-6-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969, Chapter 240, Section 131, as amended) is amended to read:

     "1-6-5. PROCESSING APPLICATION--ISSUANCE OF BALLOT.--

          A. The county clerk shall mark each completed application for a mailed ballot with the date and time of receipt in the clerk's office and enter the required information in the ballot register. The county clerk shall then determine if the applicant is a voter and if the voter is a uniformed-service voter or an overseas voter. If the applicant is a uniformed-service voter or overseas voter, the application shall be processed pursuant to the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act. An application for a mailed ballot from a voter who is not a federal qualified elector is timely if received by the county clerk no later than fourteen days prior to election day.

          B. If the applicant does not have a valid certificate of registration on file in the county, a mailed ballot shall not be issued and the county clerk shall mark the application "rejected" and file the application in a separate file from those accepted.

          [C. When required by federal law, if the applicant has on file with the county a valid certificate of registration that indicates that the applicant is a voter who is a new registrant in the state and who registered by mail without submitting the required documentary identification, the county clerk shall notify the voter that the voter must submit with the mailed ballot a form of documentary identification from the list in Paragraph (3) of Subsection I of Section 1-4-5.1 NMSA 1978. The county clerk shall note on the ballot register and signature roster that the applicant's mailed ballot must be returned with the required voter identification.

          D.] C. If the applicant has on file with the county a valid certificate of registration, the county clerk shall mark the application "accepted" and deliver a mailed ballot to the voter and the required envelopes for use in returning the ballot.

          [E.] D. Upon the mailing of a mailed ballot to an applicant who is a voter, an appropriate designation shall be made in the absentee ballot register.

          [F.] E. A mailed ballot shall not be delivered by the county clerk to any person other than the applicant for the ballot. Mailed ballots shall be sent to applicants beginning twenty-eight days before the election. For each application for a mailed ballot received twenty-three or more days before the election, the county clerk shall send either the ballot or a notice of rejection to the applicant as soon as practicable; provided that the ballot or a notice of rejection is sent not later than twenty-two days before the election. For each application for a mailed ballot received within twenty-two days of election day, the county clerk shall send either the mailed ballot or a notice of rejection to the applicant within twenty-four hours after receipt of the voter's application for a mailed ballot.

          [G.] F. If the application for a mailed ballot from a voter who is not a federal qualified elector indicates that the mailed ballot is to be delivered to an address other than an address listed on the voter's certificate of registration, the county clerk shall prepare a notice