A. The secretary of state shall provide for the testing and evaluation of voting systems designed for the purpose of recording and tabulating votes within polling places in New Mexico. All voting systems certified for use in the state shall be tested by an independent authority and shall comply with all requirements in the Election Code and the most recent voluntary voting system guidelines adopted by the United States election assistance commission.

B. Any person who has a voting system that is designed for the purpose of recording and tabulating votes within a polling place may apply on or before June 1 of any odd-numbered year to the secretary of state to have the equipment examined and tested for certification. At the time application is made for initial certification, the applicant shall pay for testing each system in an amount that reflects the actual cost of such test. Upon receipt of the application, the secretary of state shall examine and study the voting system to ensure that it complies with all requirements in the Election Code and the most recent voluntary voting system guidelines adopted by the United States election assistance commission. As part of the examination, the secretary of state shall require the system to be independently inspected by persons or testing laboratories technically qualified to evaluate and test the operation and component parts of voting systems and shall require a written report on the results of such testing. The secretary of state may authorize field testing of the equipment in one or more polling places in any state or local government election; provided that such field tests shall be conducted at no cost to the state or any local government.

C. Upon completion of all tests and examination of all written test reports, the secretary of state shall make a written report of the result of the findings and shall file that report, together with the written test reports, in the office of the secretary of state and post them on the secretary of state's website. The secretary of state shall accept public comment during the twenty-one days following the filing of the written report.

D. Following the period of public comment, the secretary of state shall submit the filed reports and any public comments for consideration by the voting system certification committee. The voting system certification committee shall make recommendations regarding the suitability and reliability of the use of such equipment in the conduct of elections under the Election Code.

E. The voting system certification committee shall recommend that a voting system be certified for use in the state only if it complies with all requirements in the Election Code and the most recent voluntary voting system guidelines adopted by the United States election assistance commission.

F. If the voting system certification committee report finds that the voting system does not comply with all requirements in the Election Code or does not meet federal election standards, the secretary of state shall allow thirty days for an appeal of the findings to be filed or for the deficiencies to be corrected, following which the secretary of state shall report back to the voting system certification committee with a written final report.

G. The voting system certification committee shall reconvene to consider the final report of the secretary of state and shall make final recommendations regarding the suitability and reliability of the use of such equipment in the conduct of elections under the Election Code.

H. If the voting system certification committee recommends that the voting system is suitable for use in elections in New Mexico, within thirty days of receiving the recommendation, the secretary of state shall certify or recertify the equipment for use in elections in this state.

I. If the voting system certification committee does not recommend that the voting system for recording and tabulating votes is suitable for use in elections in New Mexico, within thirty days of receiving the recommendation, the secretary of state shall deny the application or decertify the equipment for use in elections in this state.

History: Laws 1983, ch. 226, § 1; 1989, ch. 297, § 1; 1991, ch. 106, § 7; 2001, ch. 233, § 9; 2010, ch. 28, § 17; 2017, ch. 101, § 13.

The 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, removed the deadline by which tests and inspections of voting systems must be completed; and in Subsection B, deleted "These tests and inspections shall be completed within six months of the date of application.".

The 2010 amendment, effective March 3, 2010, in the catchline, deleted "Computer voting devices" and added "Voting systems" and after "test;", added "certification"; in Subsection A, in the first sentence, deleted "Notwithstanding any other provision of the Election Code"; after "testing and evaluation of", deleted "internal computers" and added "voting systems"; and added the second sentence; in Subsection B, in the first sentence, after "Any person who has", deleted "an internal computer which" and added "a voting system that" and after "examined and tested", added "for certification"; in the second sentence, after "application is made", added "for initial certification"; in the third sentence, after "examine and study the", deleted "computer" and after "voting system" added the remainder of the sentence; in the fourth sentence, after "operation and component parts of", deleted "an internal computer for recording and tabulating votes" and added "voting systems"; and in the fifth sentence, after "in one or more", deleted "precincts" and added "polling places"; in Subsection C, in the first sentence, after "findings and shall", deleted language that required the secretary of state to submit a report of the findings to a committee composed of the secretary of state, the state chief information officer and a county clerk appointed by the governor and added the remainder of the sentence; and added the second sentence; deleted former Subsection D, which provided that if the committee approves the use of internal computers, then the secretary of state shall prescribe specifications for internal computers designed to provide a system of recording and tabulating votes to secure the integrity of the ballot; in new Subsection D, added the first sentence; in the second sentence, after "The", added "voting system certification"; and deleted the former second sentence, which provided that the report shall be a public record; added Subsections E, F and G; in Subsection H, after "If the", added "voting system certification"; after "committee recommends that the", deleted "internal computer for recording and tabulating votes" and added "voting system"; after "suitable for use in", deleted "polling places for the conduct of"; after "New Mexico,", deleted "such" and added "within thirty days of receiving the recommendation, the secretary of state shall certify or recertify the"; after "recertify the equipment", deleted "shall be deemed approved"; and at the end of the sentence, deleted "no later than January 1 of the succeeding year"; and added Subsection I.

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, substituted "system" for "machine" throughout Subsection A; and substituted "state chief information officer" for "director of the information systems division of the general services department" in Subsection B.

The 1991 amendment, effective April 2, 1991, in Subsection A, rewrote the third sentence which read "At the time application is made, the applicant shall pay to the secretary of state an examination fee of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per machine to be tested", deleted "and examination fee" following "application" in the fourth sentence, deleted the former sixth sentence which read "The application fee shall be used to pay for the cost of such testing" and, at the beginning of the present sixth sentence, substituted "The secretary of state may" for "In addition, the secretary of state shall".

Applicability of Procurement Code. — This section does not bar application of the Procurement Code, 13-1-28 to 13-1-199 NMSA 1978, to the purchase of internal computers used to record and tabulate votes, and the Procurement Code applies to such devices so used after November 1, 1984. 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 88-68.