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. 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 [Chapter 40, Article 13 NMSA 1978] 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 [40-13B-1 to 40-13B-9 NMSA 1978].

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.";

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

History: 1978 Comp., § 1-4-5.1, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 314, § 7 and by Laws 1993, ch. 316, § 7; 1997, ch. 209, § 1; 2003, ch. 356, § 11; 2005, ch. 270, § 20; 2007, ch. 336, § 4; 2015, ch. 145, § 14; 2019, ch. 212, § 47.

The 2019 amendment, effective April 3, 2019, permitted completed certificates of registration to be presented to any county clerk in the state, revised the deadlines for delivering completed certificates of registration, revised the contents of the registration form, and made certain technical amendments; in Subsection A, after "registration", added "using the paper form"; in Subsection C, deleted "Except as provided in Subsection D of this section"; in Subsection D, after "registration officer shall", deleted "not be required to provide physical residence address information on the certificate of registration" and added "be referred to the confidential address program administered by the secretary of state pursuant to the Confidential Substitute Address Act"; in Subsection E, after "resides", added "or to any other county clerk in this state"; in Subsection F, after "mailed and postmarked", deleted "at least twenty-eight days before the election" and added "within the time frame provided in Subsection A of Section 1-4-8 NMSA 1978"; in Subsection I, deleted Paragraph I(2) and redesignated former Paragraphs I(3) through I(5) as Paragraphs I(2) through I(4), respectively; and in Subparagraph I(3)(a), deleted "current and valid" preceding "photo identification", and after "photo identification", added "issued by a government or educational institution".

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, amended duties of the secretary of state and county clerk when a certificate of registration is received, and amended certain provisions relating to compliance with voter registration deadlines; in Subsection G, deleted "Upon" and added "Within one business day after", and added the last sentence of the subsection; in Subsection H, after "acceptance thereon", deleted "and when notice has been received by the registrant", and added the last sentence of the subsection; and in Paragraph (2) of Subsection I, after "age on or before", added "the next general", after "election", deleted "day", after "age or older on", added "or before the next general", and after "election", deleted "day".

The 2007 amendment, effective April 2, 2007, in Subsection D, provided that a qualified elector who has an order of protection under the Family Violence Protection Act is not required to provide physical residence address information on a certificate of registration; and in Subsection I(4), deleted "or voter identification card".

The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, in Subsection A, provided that an elector may apply for registration in the office of the secretary of state or with a registration agent or officer; in Subsection I(4)(a), provided that the statement shall inform the applicant that if the form is submitted by mail, the applicant may submit a voter identification card, student identification card or identification issued by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo; and added Subsection I(5), which provided that the form shall contain a statement requiring the applicant to swear or affirm that the information supplied by the applicant is true.

The 2003 amendment, effective July 1, 2003, inserted "The form shall also include" at the end of the introductory paragraph in Subsection I and added Subparagraphs I(1) through I(4).

The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, made a minor stylistic change in Subsection A, and added Subsection D and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly.

Twenty-eight day registration requirement is not unconstitutional. — Where plaintiff sued the secretary of state and the Bernalillo county clerk, seeking an injunction to enjoin them from prohibiting voters who declined to designate their political affiliation from voting during the primary election, the district court did not err in granting the motion to dismiss plaintiff's complaint, because New Mexico's twenty-eight day registration requirement, 1-4-5.1(F) NMSA 1978, is not too burdensome and does not unconstitutionally infringe on the right to vote because it does not totally deny the electoral franchise to any particular class of residents. Crum v. Duran, 2017-NMSC-013.