A. The Election Code applies to the following:
(1) general elections;
(2) primary elections;
(3) special elections;
(4) elections to fill vacancies in the office of United States representative;
(5) local elections included in the Local Election Act; and
(6) recall elections of county officers, school board members or applicable municipal
officers.
B. To the extent procedures are incorporated or adopted by reference by separate laws
governing such elections or to the extent procedures are not specified by such laws, certain
provisions of the Election Code shall also apply to special district elections not covered by the
Local Election Act [Chapter 1, Article 22 NMSA 1978].
History: 1953 Comp., § 3-1-18, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 240, § 19; 1975, ch. 255, § 6; 1977,
ch. 222, § 4; 1985, ch. 168, § 1; 2018, ch. 79, § 1.
ANNOTATIONS
Cross references. — For primary elections, see 1-8-10 to 1-8-44 NMSA 1978.
For election of representative in congress, see 1-15-17 NMSA 1978.
For school district elections, see 1-22-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.
For municipal elections, see 3-8-1 NMSA 1978.
The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, added certain recall elections to the list of
elections covered by the Election Code, and made conforming changes as a result of the
enactment of the Local Election Act; in Subsection A, Paragraph A(3), deleted "statewide"
preceding "special elections", in Paragraph A(4), after "in the office of", added "United States",
after "representative", deleted "in congress; and", in Paragraph A(5), deleted "school district"
and added "local", and after "elections", added "included in the Local Election Act; and", and
added Paragraph A(6); and in Subsection B, deleted former Paragraph B(1) and paragraph
designation "(2)", after "shall also apply to", added "special district officer or special district bond
or other", and after "special district elections", added "not covered by the Local Election Act".
Application of the Election Code to public improvement district formation elections. —
The Election Code’s thirty-day limitation period for filing a complaint to contest an election
applies to a public improvement district formation election under the Public Improvement District
Act. Glaser v. LeBus, 2012-NMSC-012, 276 P.3d 959.
Where the petitioners filed a complaint to contest an election to form a public improvement
district under the Public Improvement District Act thirteen months after the election, the action
was barred by the thirty-day limitation for filing a complaint to contest an election under the
Election Code. Glaser v. LeBus, 2012-NMSC-012, 276 P.3d 959.
Scope of section. — County official recall elections are not listed in this section. Sparks v.
Graves, 2006-NMCA-030, 139 N.M. 143, 130 P.3d 204.
Write-in candidates in conservancy district elections. — Conservancy district board rule
prohibiting write-in candidates for election to the board is invalid as contrary to the legislative
intent expressed by this section, making the Election Code, Chapter 1, NMSA 1978, applicable
to special district elections and to the constitutional mandate in N.M. Const., art. II, § 8 of "free
and open" elections. Gonzales v. Middle Rio Grande Conservancy Dist., 1987-NMCA-125, 106
N.M. 426, 744 P.2d 554.
Public improvement district formation elections. — The formation election provisions of the
Public Improvement District Act incorporate the election contest procedures of the Election
Code. Glaser v. LeBus, 2012-NMCA-028, 274 P.3d 114.
Special school bond election is not "special election" or "municipal election" within
statutes so that the word "election" should apply to all special and municipal elections and so
that no person should vote in any special or municipal election unless registered, and voters
otherwise qualified were entitled to vote in special school bond election, although not registered.
Johnston v. Board of Educ., 1958-NMSC-141, 65 N.M. 147, 333 P.2d 1051.
Words "general election," used in act providing for method of changing name of a
municipality, contemplated the biennial election for choosing state and county officials and
national representatives in congress. Benson v. Williams, 1952-NMSC-074, 56 N.M. 560, 246
P.2d 1046.
Elections for board of directors of conservancy district. — A person cannot stand for
election for the board of directors of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District if that person
resides in a county in which part of the district is located but outside the district itself. 1988 Op.
Att'y Gen. No. 88-34.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
9
cases, 1984–2012 · leading case:
Glaser v. Lebus, 2012-NMSC-012, 1 N.M. Ct. App. 585.
Glaser v. Lebus, 2012-NMSC-012, 1 N.M. Ct. App. 585.
· cites it 3× “In addition, “[t]o the extent procedures are incorporated or adopted by reference by separate laws governing such elections or to the extent procedures are not specified by such laws, certain provisions of the Election Code shall also apply to . . . special district officer or…”
Glaser v. LeBus, 276 P.3d 959 (N.M. 2012).
· cites it 3× “In addition, "[t]o the extent procedures are incorporated or adopted by reference by separate laws governing such elections or to the extent procedures are not specified by such laws, certain provisions of the Election Code shall also apply to ... special district officer or…”
Gonzales v. Middle Rio Grande Conservancy Dist., 744 P.2d 554 (N.M. Ct. App. 1987).
· cites it 8× “] Then, in 1977, that application was further broadened: “[t]o the extent procedures are incorporated or adopted by reference by separate laws governing such elections or to the extent procedures are not specified by such laws, certain provisions of the Election Code shall also…”
Glaser v. LeBus, 2012-NMCA-028, 1 N.M. Ct. App. 356.
· cites it 4× “Although this provision principally addresses elections with “candidates,” the Election Code’s election contest procedures also apply to “special district elections,” such as a PID Act formation election, “[t]o the extent procedures are incorporated or adopted by reference by…”
Dinwiddie v. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 708 P.2d 1043 (N.M. 1985).
· cites it 2× “They argue that because these provisions are primarily addressed to a “candidate” or “party,” they do not apply to bond elections and that Section 1-14-1 gives standing to file an election contest only to an “unsuccessful candidate.”
Am. Civil Liberties Union v. Santillanes, 506 F. Supp. 2d 598 (D.N.M. 2007).
· cites it 2× “§ 3-8 -l(E) (Michie 1999); see also N.M. Stat. Ann. § 1-1-19 (B) (stating conditions under which State Election Code applies to municipal elections).”
Thompson v. Robinson, 688 P.2d 21 (N.M. 1984).
· cites it 2× “Section 1-1-19(A)(2). N.M. Const, art. VII, Subsection 2(A), provides that “[ejvery citizen of the United States who is a legal resident of the state and is a qualified elector therein, shall be qualified to hold any elective public office * * (Emphasis added.”
Sparks v. Graves, 2006-NMCA-030, 130 P.3d 204.
· cites it 2× “Section 1-1-19 sets out the types of elections covered by the Code.”
N.M. Stat. § 1-1-19(A): 2 cases
Glaser v. Lebus, 2012-NMSC-012, 1 N.M. Ct. App. 585.
“In addition, “[t]o the extent procedures are incorporated or adopted by reference by separate laws governing such elections or to the extent procedures are not specified by such laws, certain provisions of the Election Code shall also apply to . . . special district officer or…”
Glaser v. LeBus, 276 P.3d 959 (N.M. 2012).
“In addition, "[t]o the extent procedures are incorporated or adopted by reference by separate laws governing such elections or to the extent procedures are not specified by such laws, certain provisions of the Election Code shall also apply to ... special district officer or…”
N.M. Stat. § 1-1-19(A)(2): 1 case
Thompson v. Robinson, 688 P.2d 21 (N.M. 1984).
“Section 1-1-19(A)(2). N.M. Const, art. VII, Subsection 2(A), provides that “[ejvery citizen of the United States who is a legal resident of the state and is a qualified elector therein, shall be qualified to hold any elective public office * * (Emphasis added.”
N.M. Stat. § 1-1-19(B)(2): 3 cases
Glaser v. LeBus, 2012-NMCA-028, 1 N.M. Ct. App. 356.
“Although this provision principally addresses elections with “candidates,” the Election Code’s election contest procedures also apply to “special district elections,” such as a PID Act formation election, “[t]o the extent procedures are incorporated or adopted by reference by…”
Glaser v. Lebus, 2012-NMSC-012, 1 N.M. Ct. App. 585.
“In addition, “[t]o the extent procedures are incorporated or adopted by reference by separate laws governing such elections or to the extent procedures are not specified by such laws, certain provisions of the Election Code shall also apply to . . . special district officer or…”
Glaser v. LeBus, 276 P.3d 959 (N.M. 2012).
“In addition, "[t]o the extent procedures are incorporated or adopted by reference by separate laws governing such elections or to the extent procedures are not specified by such laws, certain provisions of the Election Code shall also apply to ... special district officer or…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.