A. The county canvassing board shall meet to approve the report of the canvass of the returns and declare the results no sooner than six days and no later than ten days from the date of the election. A county canvassing board in a county with more than one hundred fifty thousand voters shall meet to approve the report of the canvass of the returns and declare the results no sooner than six days and no later than thirteen days from the date of the election.
B. The county canvassing board, immediately upon approval of the report of the canvass of the returns of an election, shall issue a certificate of canvass of the results of the election and send one copy of the certified results to:
(1) the county clerk;
(2) each local governing body with a candidate or ballot question receiving votes from any precinct in the county;
(3) the secretary of state;
(4) the state records center;
(5) the state canvassing board, in the case of a statewide election or a special state election and the results are for candidates or ballot questions voted on by the voters of more than one county; and
(6) in the case of a municipality whose laws provide for a top-two runoff, the municipality and the county clerk, if the results indicate the need for a top-two runoff election.
C. On the thirty-first day after any primary or general election, the secretary of state shall issue to those candidates entitled by law election certificates, or certificate of nomination in the case of the primary election, to all county officers, magistrates and to members of the legislature elected from districts wholly within the county. In addition, the county canvassing board, immediately after completion of the canvass, shall declare the results of the election and of all ballot questions affecting only precincts within the county.
History: 1953 Comp., § 3-13-14, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 240, § 316; 1979, ch. 378, § 15; 2015, ch. 145, § 69; 2019, ch. 212, § 123.
ANNOTATIONSCross references. — For county canvassing board certifying votes for officers elected by more than one county, see N.M. Const., art. XX, § 7.
The 2019 amendment, effective April 3, 2019, provided additional post-election duties for the county canvassing board; in Subsection A, after each occurrence of "shall", deleted "complete" and added "meet to approve the report of", and after each occurrence of "declare the results", deleted "within" and added "no sooner than six days and no later than"; added a new Subsection B and redesignated former Subsection B as Subsection C; in Subsection C, after "primary or general", deleted "or district special", after the next occurrence of "the", deleted "county canvassing board" and added "secretary of state", after "county canvassing board", added "immediately after completion of the canvass", after "declare the results", deleted "immediately after completion of the canvass", and after "affecting only", added "precincts within"; and deleted former Subsection C.
The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, required certain counties to complete the canvass of the returns and declare the results within thirteen days from the date of the election; in Subsection A, after "from the date of the election.", added the last sentence of the subsection; and in Subsection C, after "deliver to the county", deleted "chairman" and added "chair".
Board's certificate not binding on court when returns excluded. — Certificate of county canvassing board that contestee had been duly elected did not bind district court when certificate improperly excluded returns from a questioned precinct because unregistered persons supposedly voted and it affirmatively appeared that number of unregistered votes cast was not enough to alter the election result. Miera v. Martinez, 1944-NMSC-005, 48 N.M. 30, 145 P.2d 487 (decided under former law).
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 26 Am. Jur. 2d Elections §§ 400, 401.
29 C.J.S. Elections § 240.