A. The procedures in the Intimate Partner Violence Survivor Suffrage Act apply to all elections and operate notwithstanding other provisions of the Election Code or state or local laws related to elections to the contrary.

B. Upon a person's certification as a participant, the administrator shall determine whether the participant is a voter. If the participant is not a voter but appears to be a qualified elector, the administrator shall offer the participant the opportunity to register to vote.

C. A voter-participant shall vote exclusively by mailed absentee ballot or mailed ballot. In each election in which a voter-participant is eligible to vote, the administrator shall send a mailed absentee ballot or a mailed ballot to the voter-participant without requiring a request or application to receive a ballot.

D. The form of the ballot for a voter-participant shall be the same as the ballot provided to all other voters. A voter-participant may vote for all candidates and on all questions as if the voter were casting a ballot in person.

E. The form of the ballot materials for voter-participants shall be the same as the ballot materials provided to all other voters, except as required to implement the Intimate Partner Violence Survivor Suffrage Act.

F. With regard to communications related to participants and participant records related to voting:

(1) any communication between the secretary of state and any county clerk related to the Intimate Partner Violence Survivor Suffrage Act shall be maintained as confidential in accordance with the confidentiality provisions of Subsection A of Section 40-13B-8 NMSA 1978 and shall not be disclosed except as provided by that section; and

(2) once a person is decertified, records related to that voter are no longer confidential pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this subsection and may be disclosed in the same manner provided for disclosure of voter information pursuant to the provisions of the Election Code.

History: Laws 2019, ch. 226, § 3.

Effective dates. — Laws 2019, ch. 226, § 13 made Laws 2019, ch. 226, § 3 effective July 1, 2019.