Notwithstanding the provisions of the Voter Records System Act [Chapter 1, Article 5 NMSA 1978], the secretary of state shall:

A. maintain within the state voter registration electronic management system a secured module. Voter-participant registration records shall be maintained in the secured module and shall be accessible only as required by staff designated by the secretary of state. Voter-participant registration records shall not appear in the voter file or the county voter list, be accessible by any county user or be viewable by the public;

B. maintain a register of voter-participants, which shall serve as a supplement to the county register for the county in which each voter-participant's voter registration residential address is located. The register maintained by the secretary of state shall be filed in a fire-resistant container;

C. upon the determination that a participant is an existing voter, proceed to transfer all voter registration records related to the voter-participant from the voter file to the secured module and shall notify the appropriate county clerk, who shall immediately transfer the voter-participant's voter registration documents from the county register to the secretary of state. Voter registration records related to a voter-participant shall not be maintained in the county register or by the county clerk;

D. when a participant executes a new or updated certificate of registration, fulfill the duties of the appropriate county clerk in placing the voter-participant's certificate of registration in the register maintained by the secretary of state and entering the information into the secured module;

E. upon decertification of a person who is a voter:

(1) transfer the person's voter registration information from the secured module into the voter file; and

(2) deliver the certificate of voter registration to the appropriate county clerk for placement in the county register;

F. upon the cancellation of a person's voter registration when the person is also decertified as a participant:

(1) transfer the canceled voter registration information from the secured module into the voter file; and

(2) deliver the certificate of registration and other documents pertaining to the canceled voter registration to the appropriate county clerk for placement in the county register for the retention period; and

G. upon the cancellation of a participant's voter registration when the person remains a participant, perform the duties of the county clerk in the cancellation of registration and retention of records; provided that when the person is decertified, the secretary of state shall:

(1) transfer the canceled voter registration information from the secured module into the voter file; and

(2) if the retention period for voter registration records provided in Section 1-4-32 NMSA 1978 has not expired, deliver the certificate of registration and other documents pertaining to the canceled voter to the appropriate county clerk for placement in the county register for the remainder of the retention period.

History: Laws 2019, ch. 226, § 4.

Effective dates. — Laws 2019, ch. 226, § 13 made Laws 2019, ch. 226, § 4 effective July 1, 2019.