10-3-1. [Circumstances causing vacancy in local office.]
Any office belonging to the class mentioned in Section 10-4-1 NMSA 1978 becomes vacant under any of the following circumstances:
A. by death of the party in office;
B. removal of the officer as provided by this chapter;
C. failure of the officer to qualify as provided by law;
D. expiration of the term of office when no successor has been chosen as provided by law;
E. when the officer removes from the county in which he is elected and in case of municipal officers, when he removes from the town or city for which he is elected;
F. absence from the county for six consecutive months, and in cases of municipal officers, absence for such length of time from the village, town or city for which he is elected; but this provision does not apply to those officers wherein the law provides that the duties may be discharged by a deputy, when such absence is due to illness or other unavoidable cause;
G. by resignation of the officer;
H. by an officer accepting and undertaking to discharge the duties of another incompatible office.