False voting consists of:

A. voting or offering to vote with the knowledge of not being a qualified elector;

B. voting or offering to vote in the name of any other person;

C. voting or offering to vote more than once in the same election;

D. falsifying any information on an absentee ballot official mailing envelope or affixing a signature or mark other than one's own on an absentee ballot official mailing envelope;

E. inducing, abetting or procuring or attempting to induce, abet or procure a person known to not be a qualified elector to vote; or

F. inducing, abetting or procuring or attempting to induce, abet or procure a person who, having voted once in any election, to vote or attempt to vote again at the same election.

Whoever commits false voting is guilty of a fourth degree felony.

History: 1953 Comp., § 3-20-6, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 240, § 432; 2011, ch. 137, § 103.

Cross references. — For person not permitted to vote, see 1-12-7 NMSA 1978.

For executing false statement of eligibility to vote as perjury, see 1-12-8 NMSA 1978.

For fraudulent and double voting as a fourth degree felony, see 1-20-8.1 NMSA 1978.

For voting on basis of falsely executed statement of eligibility to vote as constituting fraudulent voting, see 1-12-8 NMSA 1978.

For delivery of two or more emergency paper ballots folded together as fourth degree felony, see 1-20-8.2 NMSA 1978.

The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, removed from the list of acts that constitute false voting, the act of knowingly voting in a precinct in which the voter is not registered and added to the list the act of falsifying information on an absentee ballot envelope or signing an absentee ballot envelope that is not the vote's absentee ballot envelope.

Convicted election official cannot question constitutionality of primary law. — Election official convicted of permitting fraudulent voting and making false entries in pollbook could not question constitutionality of primary law because he was not prejudiced by alleged restraints. State v. Lucero, 1944-NMSC-036, 48 N.M. 294, 150 P.2d 119 (decided under former law).

Concurrent sentences for fraudulent voting and false entries. — Imposition of concurrent sentences of 18 to 24 months for permitting fraudulent voting and for making false entries in pollbooks was error since maximum imprisonment allowed for permitting fraudulent voting was 6 months, notwithstanding that penalty for other offense was 1 to 5 years; sentence as to the first offense was void. State v. Lucero, 1944-NMSC-036, 48 N.M. 294, 150 P.2d 119 (decided under former law).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 26 Am. Jur. 2d Elections §§ 468, 489.

"Infamous offense," elective franchise violation as, within constitutional or statutory provision in relation to presentment or indictment by grand jury, 24 A.L.R. 1002.

Purging voters' registration lists, remedy and procedure for, 69 A.L.R. 1035.

Voters' registration lists, attorney general as proper party to bring action to purge, 96 A.L.R. 1035.

Legality of votes cast by person otherwise qualified as affected by nonregistration, 101 A.L.R. 657.

What amounts to conviction within statute making conviction ground for refusal of special privilege, 113 A.L.R. 1179.

Removal by executive clemency of disqualification to vote resulting from conviction of crime as applicable in case of conviction in federal court or court of another state, 135 A.L.R. 1493.

Governing law as to existence or character of offense for which one has been convicted in a federal court or court of another state, as bearing upon disqualification to vote, 175 A.L.R. 804.

Federal court, or court of another state or county, conviction in, as disqualification to vote at election, 39 A.L.R.3d 303.

Incompetents: voting rights of persons mentally incapacitated, 80 A.L.R.3d 1116.

29 C.J.S. Elections §§ 325, 341.