§ NMSA 1978, § 1-6-9Mailed ballots; manner of voting; delivery methods

Mailed ballots; manner of voting; delivery methods.
A. When voting a mailed ballot, the voter shall secretly mark the mailed ballot in the manner
provided in the Election Code for marking paper ballots, place it in the official inner envelope and
securely seal the envelope. The voter shall then place the official inner envelope inside the official
mailing envelope and securely seal the envelope. The voter shall then complete the form on the
reverse of the official mailing envelope, which shall include a statement by the voter under penalty
of perjury that the facts stated in the form are true and the voter's name, registration address and
year of birth. The voter or another person authorized by law shall then return the official mailing
envelope containing the voted ballot to the county clerk of the voter's county of residence. If returned by a person other than the voter, the official mailing envelope shall contain the signature,
printed name and relationship to the voter of the person returning the ballot.
B. The official mailing envelope may be returned by mail using the United States postal service. The secretary of state shall implement a free-access tracking system for each voter to be able
to see the status of the voter's mailed ballot while en route to the voter as well as when returned
to the county clerk.
C. The official mailing envelope may be returned using a commercial delivery service; provided
that unless the secretary of state has approved the use of a specific commercial delivery service,
the voter shall be responsible for the costs of delivery by means of such service.
D. The official mailing envelope may be returned in person to the office of the county clerk or to
an alternate voting location, mobile alternate voting location or election day voting location.
E. The official mailing envelope may be returned by depositing the official mailing envelope
in a secured container made available by the county clerk to receive voted mailed ballots for that
election; provided that:
(1) the location of the containers and the days and times the containers will be available
to receive ballots are posted by the county clerk at least ninety days before a statewide election or
forty-two days before a special election;
(2) the location of a secured container is considered a polling place for purposes of electioneering too close to the polling place in violation of Section 1-20-16 NMSA 1978;
(3) all secured containers shall be monitored by video surveillance cameras and the video
recorded by that system shall be retained by the county clerk as a record related to voting pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-12-69 NMSA 1978;
(4) signage at the location of a secured container shall inform voters and those dropping
off ballots at the location:
(a) that it is a violation of law for any person who is not an immediate family member
to collect and deliver a ballot for another person;
(b) that electioneering is prohibited within one hundred feet of the secured container;
and
(c) of the dates and approximate time the ballots will be collected; and
(5) at least once a day, the county clerk or a full-time deputy county clerk shall collect the
ballots from the secured containers, register the date and time stamp on each official mailing envelope and identify the location of the secured container in the ballot register.