Section 3-8-27 - Regular municipal election; declaration of candidacy; withdrawing name from ballot; penalty for false statement. - New Mexico Statutes

3-8-27. Regular municipal election; declaration of candidacy; withdrawing name from ballot; penalty for false statement.

A.     Candidate filing day shall be between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the fifty-sixth day preceding the day of election.  On candidate filing day, a candidate for municipal office shall personally appear at the office of the municipal clerk to file all documents required by law in order to cause a person to be certified as a candidate.  Alternatively, on candidate filing day, a person acting solely on the candidate's behalf, by virtue of a written affidavit of authorization signed by the candidate, notarized and presented to the municipal clerk by such person, shall file in the office of the municipal clerk all documents required by law in order to cause a person to be certified as a candidate.

B.     On candidate filing day, each candidate shall cause to be filed in the office of the municipal clerk a declaration of candidacy; a certified copy of the candidate's current affidavit of voter registration that is on file with the county clerk and that has been certified by the office of the county clerk on a date not earlier than the adoption of the election resolution; and, in a home rule or charter municipality that requires a nominating petition to be submitted by a candidate for municipal office, a nominating petition that has the required number of signatures.

C.     All candidates shall cause their affidavits of voter registration to show their address as a street address or rural route number and not as a post office box.

D.     The municipal clerk shall provide a form for the declaration of candidacy and shall accept only those declarations of candidacy that contain:

(1)     the identical name and the identical resident street address as shown on the affidavit of registration of the candidate submitted with the declaration of candidacy;

(2)     the office and term to which the candidate seeks election and district designation, if appropriate;

(3)     a statement that the candidate is eligible and legally qualified to hold the office for which the candidate is filing;

(4)     a statement that the candidate has not been convicted of a felony or, if the candidate has been convicted of a felony, a statement that the candidate's elective franchise has been restored and that the candidate has been granted a pardon or a certificate by the governor restoring the candidate's full rights of citizenship;

(5)     a statement that the candidate or the candidate's authorized representative shall contact the office of the municipal clerk during normal business hours on the fifty-fourth day before the election to ascertain whether the municipal clerk has certified the declaration of candidacy as valid; 

(6)     the contact information for how the candidate or the candidate's authorized representative can be reached for purposes of giving notice;

(7)     a statement to the effect that the declaration of candidacy is an affidavit under oath and that any false statement knowingly made in the declaration of candidacy constitutes a fourth degree felony under the laws of New Mexico; and

(8)     the notarized signature of the candidate on the declaration of candidacy.

E.     The municipal clerk shall not accept a declaration of candidacy for more than one municipal elected office per candidate, so that each candidate declares for only one municipal elected office.

F.     Once filed, the declaration of candidacy is a public record.

G.     Not later than the fifty-fifth day preceding the day of the election, the municipal clerk shall determine whether the declaration of candidacy shall be certified.  In order to be certified as a candidate, the documents submitted to the municipal clerk shall prove that the individual is a qualified elector as defined in Subsection K of Section 3-1-2 NMSA 1978 and, if appropriate, that the individual resides in and is registered to vote in the municipal election district from which the individual seeks election.  In the event that an individual fails to submit to the municipal clerk on candidate filing day the documents listed in Subsection B of this section in the form and with the contents as required by this section, the municipal clerk shall not certify that individual as a candidate for municipal office.

H.     The municipal clerk shall post in the clerk's office a list of the names of those individuals who have been certified as candidates.  The municipal clerk shall also post in the clerk's office the names of those individuals who have not been certified as candidates, along with the reasons therefor.  The posting shall occur no later than 9:00 a.m. on the fifty-fourth day preceding the election.

I.     Not later than 5:00 p.m. on the forty-ninth day before the day of the election, a candidate for municipal office may file an affidavit on the form provided by the municipal clerk in the office of the municipal clerk stating that the candidate is no longer a candidate for municipal office.  A municipal clerk shall not place on the ballot the name of any person who has filed an affidavit as provided in this subsection.

J.     Not later than 10:00 a.m. on the forty-eighth day preceding the election, the municipal clerk shall confirm with the printer on contract with the municipality and the county clerk the names of the candidates and their position on the ballot.

K.     Any person knowingly making a false statement in the declaration of candidacy is guilty of a fourth degree felony.

L.     No person shall be elected to municipal office as a write-in candidate unless that person has been certified as a declared write-in candidate by the municipal clerk, as follows:

(1)     write-in candidates filing day shall be on the forty-ninth day preceding the election between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.; 

(2)     write-in candidates shall file a declaration of write-in candidacy with the same documents and satisfy the same requirements as established in this section for candidates;

(3)     the municipal clerk shall, on the forty-eighth day preceding the election, certify those individuals who have satisfied the requirements of this section as declared write-in candidates; 

(4)     not later than 9:00 a.m. on the forty-seventh day preceding the election, the municipal clerk shall, in the office of the municipal clerk:

(a)     post the names of those individuals who have been certified as declared write-in candidates; and

(b)      post the names of those individuals who have not been certified as declared write-in candidates along with the reasons; and 

(5)     not later than 5:00 p.m. on the thirty-fifth day preceding the election, a declared write-in candidate may file an affidavit that the candidate is no longer a write-in candidate for municipal office.  In the event that a declared write-in candidate files an affidavit of withdrawal, votes for that candidate shall not be counted and canvassed.