A. The attorney general shall, upon request of the secretary of state, provide legal advice, assistance, services and representation as counsel in any action to enforce the provisions of the Election Code.

B. Upon the request of the secretary of state or a county clerk, the attorney general and the several district attorneys of the state shall assign investigators or lawyers to aid the secretary of state and county clerks to ensure the proper conduct of an election.

C. Each district attorney shall assign a lawyer to be the elections prosecutor for the judicial district or for each county in the judicial district. The district attorney shall communicate and maintain current the name and contact information of the assigned elections prosecutor to the secretary of state and to each county clerk in the judicial district. The assigned elections prosecutor shall receive from the county clerk in the prosecutor's county or judicial district referrals of suspected violations of the Election Code. The assigned elections prosecutor shall each month report in writing to the county clerk and the district attorney the status of each referral until the matter is concluded.

History: 1978 Comp., § 1-2-1.1, enacted by Laws 1979, ch. 74, § 3; 1981, ch. 159, § 1; 2015, ch. 145, § 8; 2018, ch. 79, § 2.

Cross references. — For the enforcement powers of the secretary of state, see 1-2-1 NMSA 1978.

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, made conforming changes as a result of the repeal of the Municipal Election Code; and in Subsection A, after "provisions of the Election Code", deleted "and the Municipal Election Code".

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2018, ch. 79, § 174 provided that references in law to the Municipal Election Code and to the School Election Law shall be deemed to be references to the Local Election Act.

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, provided for the attorney general to assist the secretary of state in any action to enforce the provisions of the Election Code, and required the attorney general and district attorneys to assist the county clerks to ensure the proper conduct of an election, and required each district attorney to assign a lawyer to be the elections prosecutor; in the catchline, after "Attorney general", deleted "and district attorneys", after "secretary of state;", added "district attorneys required to assist secretary of state and county clerks"; in Subsection A, after "The attorney general", deleted "and the several district attorneys of the state" and added "shall", after the first occurrence of "secretary of state", deleted "shall", after "provide", deleted "to the secretary of state", and after "Election Code", added "and the Municipal Election Code"; in Subsection B, after the first occurrence of "secretary of state", added "or a county clerk", after the second occurrence of "secretary of state", deleted "on election day" and added "and county clerks", and after "proper conduct", deleted "the" and added "an"; and added Subsection C.