A. Immediately after filing of the application for recount or recheck, or notice of an automatic recount, the appropriate canvassing board shall issue an order to the county clerk of each county where a precinct specified in the application or notice is located commanding the county clerk to convene a recount precinct board [election board] at the county seat on a day specified in the order, which date shall not be more than ten days after the filing of the application for a recount or recheck or notice of an automatic recount.

B. Upon receipt of the order, the county clerk shall appoint a recount precinct board [election board] pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-2-12 NMSA 1978 and shall send notices of the names of the recount precinct board [election board] members and the date fixed for the recount or recheck to the district judge for the county and the county chair of each of the political parties that participated in the election for the office in question. The county clerk shall keep a log of how each person was notified and confirmation that the notice was received. Presiding judges and election judges on the recount precinct board [election board] shall be appointed from among those persons who served as precinct board [election board] members in the most recent election.

C. The recount precinct board [election board], district judge and county clerk shall meet on the date fixed for the recount or recheck, and the ballot boxes and ballot containers or voting machines of the precincts involved in the recount or recheck shall be opened. The recount precinct board [election board] shall recount and retally the ballots, or recheck the votes cast on the voting machines, as the case may be, for the office in question in the presence of the county clerk, district judge and any other person who may desire to be present.

D. After completion of the recount or recheck, the recount precinct board [election board] shall replace the ballots in the ballot boxes and ballot containers and lock them, or the voting machines shall be locked and resealed, and the precinct board [election board] shall certify to the proper canvassing board the results of the recount or recheck. The district judge and the county clerk shall also certify that the recount or recheck was made in their presence.

History: 1953 Comp., § 3-14-20, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 240, § 345; 1977, ch. 222, § 84; 1978 Comp., § 1-14-16, repealed and reenacted by Laws 2008, ch. 41, § 3; 2015, ch. 145, § 74.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

Laws 2019, ch. 212, § 283, effective April 3, 2019, provided that references in the Election Code to "precinct board", shall be deemed to be references to "election board", as that term is defined in Section 1-1-13 NMSA 1978.

Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 2008, ch. 41, § 3 repealed former 1-14-16 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 240, § 345, and enacted a new section, effective May 14, 2008.

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, amended the procedures for a recount or recheck following an election; in Subsection A, after "county clerk to convene", deleted "the absent voter" and added "a recount"; in Subsection B, after "clerk shall", added "appoint a recount precinct board pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-2-12 NMSA 1978 and shall", after "send notices", deleted "by registered mail", after "of", added "the names of the recount precinct board members and", after "judge for the county", deleted "the absent voter precinct board members", and after "office in question.", added the last two sentences of the subsection; in Subsection C, after "The", deleted "absent voter" and added "recount", after "shall be opened. The", deleted "absent voter" and added "recount", and after "district judge", deleted "or person designated to act for the district judge"; and in Subsection D, after "recheck, the", deleted "absent voter" and added "recount", after "board shall certify to the", deleted "secretary of state" and added "proper canvassing board", and after "The district judge", deleted "or the person designated to act for the district judge".

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 26 Am. Jur. 2d Elections § 389 et seq.

Power of election officers to withdraw or change their returns, 168 A.L.R. 855.

Compelling election officers to withdraw or change returns, as affected by nonexistence of power of officer to withdraw or change, 168 A.L.R. 864.

29 C.J.S. Elections §§ 289 to 295.