Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 9, May 7, 2024
Section 1.10.35.8 - PROCESSING VOTER REGISTRATION CERTIFICATESA. Adding and transferring voters. (1) Upon receipt of a voter registration certificate, the county clerk shall run a duplicate search to determine if the voter is already registered in the registration records of the county. To determine if a record already exists in the statewide voter registration system, the duplicate search criteria shall be based on a strong match. The county clerk may also conduct additional duplicate searches using different criteria to minimize the chance of entering a duplicate record. Additional search criteria may be based on weak match criteria. Upon running a duplicate search, if the voter's information on the voter registration certificate matches with an existing record, the voter shall be updated and transferred from another county.(2) If the qualified elector submits a paper voter registration form and provides all other required voter information, but only provides the qualified elector's driver's license or state identification number, or last four digits of the voter's SSN, the county clerk will first verify that the voter has a matching MVD record with the provided information. If the county clerk can verify and match a MVD record with the qualified elector then the county clerk should complete the search stated in Paragraph (1), of Subsection A, of 1.10.35.8 NMAC. If the county clerk is unable to verify the voter has a matching MVD record, the clerk shall, within five days, email and mail the voter information with directions on how to provide their full SSN on the secure SOS portal.(3) Upon receipt of a voter registration certificate, the county clerk shall run a search in the statewide voter registration system to determine if the applicant has been previously marked as deceased or is incarcerated in a correctional facility as a result of a felony conviction prior to acceptance of the application. If a strong match is found, the application shall be processed pursuant to Subsection C of 1.10.35.8 NMAC. The county clerk may conduct additional searches to determine a possible match for purposes of ensuring a death record does not exist prior to entering the voter registration certificate.(4) Unless the voter is a public official with a designated confidential home address pursuant to 1.10.37 NMAC, all registrant detail and statutorily required data must be entered from the certificate of registration into the voter file including: name, full social security number (SSN), physical address, DOB, and an image of the signature. If the voter is a public official with such a designation, the voter record shall be marked as containing a confidential address, and "confidential" shall be entered in the address fields that correspond with the confidential address except for the zip code. The zip code indicated on the confidential home address designation shall be entered into the voter file.(5) The county clerk may establish a best practice of proofreading data entry to prevent errors and duplicate voter entry. Proofreading may be done by a staff member who did not complete the original entry and the proofreading search for the record may be conducted using different criteria (i.e. DOB or name rather than SSN).(6) The county clerk shall scan each certificate of voter registration in the county register and attach to the electronic voter record. All scanned images attached to a voter record transferred to another county shall be retained as attached to that record.(7) Pursuant to Subsection C of Section 1-4-15 NMSA 1978, a voter who does not declare a political party preference shall be entered into the voter file as "decline to select". County clerk staff shall not check the "no party" box on the certificate of voter registration, but shall leave it blank.(8) A voter who does not declare a qualified political party preference shall be entered into the voter file as "decline to select."(9) A voter who is not 18 years of age at the time of registration shall be placed in "suspense" status. At 35 days and 21 days prior to the next election, the county clerk shall run a suspense query report of the county voter file and activate suspense voters on the appropriate date prior to the election. At 21 days prior to an election, the county clerk shall activate all those suspense voters who will be 18 on or before the election.(10) If the age question is checked "no" or left blank the application shall nonetheless be accepted if the DOB demonstrates that the applicant is over the age of 18 or placed in suspense status if the DOB demonstrates the applicant is under the age of 18.(11) When a voter registration agent number is provided on an application, the county clerk shall note the agent number and the registration form number in the statewide voter registration system.B. Matching with MVD database: All online and MVD electronic registrations have been verified with the MVD database prior to transmission to the county clerk. Upon receiving a paper voter registration certificate, the county clerk may conduct a search in the MVD database for investigative purposes. (1) If the county clerk determines that a conflict exists between the MVD database and the voter registration record the county clerk may contact the registrant to request clarification. If it is determined that the information provided on the voter registration form needs to be corrected, the county clerk shall request that the voter fill out a new voter registration form with the corrected information before processing the application.(2) The MVD database shall not be used to fill in information that is not included on incomplete applications or applications not otherwise in proper form.C. Rejection of voter registration forms. (1) Rejection for incomplete information: Voter registration forms that do not contain the qualified elector's name, address, DOB, and signature or usual mark shall be rejected. A full social security number is required to finish processing a new voter registration. For voter registration forms that only provide incomplete information or the county clerk cannot ascertain the qualified elector's full SSN, the county clerk shall make the appropriate notation in the statewide voter file, and return the form to the qualified elector with an explanation of the reasons for rejection and indicate that the voter shall provide the full SSN prior to receiving a ballot and, if not, may only vote on a provisional ballot until the incomplete information is provided, within five business days of the county clerk rejecting the voter registration form.(2) Rejection for non-citizenship: For voter registration forms in which the citizenship question is answered in the negative, the county clerk shall reject the form. The county clerk shall also reject any voter registration certificate in which the question regarding citizenship is not answered. The county clerk shall send a notice within five business days to the applicant with an explanation that non-citizens are not eligible to vote in New Mexico elections. If the box was checked in error, the applicant may fill out a new form.(3) Rejection of forms containing commercial mailbox locations as the physical address: The county clerk shall maintain a listing of addresses for commercial mail box establishments, if any, to prevent the entry of a non-residential address as a residence address into the voter file. When any voter registration form is received containing a commercial mail box location as the physical address, it shall be rejected, and the form returned to the voter with an explanation of the reason for the rejection along with a new voter registration form and instructions on how to register online, if available to that voter, within five business days, but as soon as is practicable.(4) Rejection for felony incarceration confirmation: For voter registration forms submitted that have a positive match with a felony record in the voter records system, the county clerk shall confirm the application was submitted personally before a county clerk, the clerk's authorized representative or a precinct board member, at an office of the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department or at a state agency that provides public assistance or services to persons with disabilities. If the clerk confirms this information, the registration shall be accepted. If the clerk does not confirm this information, the county clerk shall process the application with a status of "not eligible" and a status reason of "felony incarceration" and send a notice to the applicant with an explanation that an otherwise qualified elector is ineligible to register to vote while incarcerated in a correctional facility for a felony conviction. The notice shall also provide the elector with information on how they can become eligible or how to update or correct the information in the voter records system, within five business days, but as soon as is practicable.(5) Rejection for deceased confirmation: For voter registration forms submitted that have a positive match with a death record in the voter records system, the county clerk shall contact the secretary of state who will work with the department of health or other authorized agencies to confirm that a death certificate exists. If the death is confirmed, the county clerk shall reject the voter registration form and shall refer the matter to the assigned election prosecutor within the district attorney's office for investigation.(6) Voter registration applications that contain an invalid series of numbers for SSN shall be rejected. Within five business days, but as soon as is practicable of the rejection, the form shall be returned to the voter with an explanation of the reason for the rejection. The social security administration has provided information regarding invalid or impossible SSNs as follows:(a) SSN's never begin with the first three digits of 000, 666, or 900 series; and(b) prior to June 25, 2011, SSN's did not begin with the first three digits of 800 series or above 772 in the 700 series.(7) If applications are complete, but the county clerk reasonably believes an application is fraudulent, a copy of such registration shall be sent to the assigned election prosecutor within the district attorney's office located in the same county, along with a statement of the reasons the application(s) are considered suspicious for further investigation. The county clerk may contact the SOS to request assistance in researching suspicious applications.(8) The county clerk may contact the applicant via phone or e-mail if necessary, however, in no case shall a change in registrant information be processed unless provided in writing.D. Processing online voter registration forms received from the SOS.(1) In order for an applicant to use the online voter registration system, a positive match of identity is required with the MVD database. The match criteria shall be a current or expired MVD driver's license ID number or state ID number, full SSN, and full DOB. If a positive match is not found in the MVD database, the applicant shall be provided with a notice that the application cannot be processed online because of non-matching MVD information. The applicant shall be provided a link to print a paper voter registration application and an option to provide contact information and request to be contacted by the county clerk. If a positive match is made with the MVD database, the applicant shall be allowed to proceed with online registration and the MVD will send an image of the signature and photo as part of the voter registration application.(2) If the applicant answers no to the questions regarding citizenship, the voter will not be allowed to continue with the online application process.(3) If the applicant answers no to the question regarding age, the voter will be allowed to continue with the online application process, however, the clerk will place the record in suspense status in the statewide voter registration system.(4) If the applicant answers yes to the question regarding currently being in a correctional facility as a result of a felony conviction, the voter will not be allowed to continue with the online application process.(5) The applicant shall be provided the opportunity to enter all information as prescribed by the paper registration form, except the voter will not be allowed to modify the SSN or DOB after receiving confirmation of a positive match with the MVD database.(6) The online voter registration system shall allow the applicant to designate from the list of qualified political parties or choose not to designate a political party. The online voter registration system shall not permit an applicant to designate a political party that is not a qualified political party pursuant to Article 7 of the Election Code.(7) The online voter registration system shall not allow incomplete voter registration applications to be submitted to the statewide voter registration system. The registrant shall receive a system notification when attempting to submit incomplete information and shall not be allowed to proceed until all required information has been provided. Required information shall include the voter's first name, last name, DOB, SSN, gender, physical address, mailing address in the event a non-standard physical address is provided, answers to citizenship and age questions, and party designation or choice of no party designation.(8) Upon receipt of any online or electronic application forwarded to the county clerk via the voter records system, the application shall be processed as described in Subsection A of 1.10.35.8 NMAC.(9) The online voter registration system will generate a digital image of a voter registration certificate which shall be included as part of the statewide voter registration system and shall be printed and maintained as part of the county register pursuant to Section 1-4-12 NMSA 1978.(10) The online voter registration system shall transmit all information provided by the voter via a secured and encrypted transmission path and an audit log of all attempts, both successful and unsuccessful, to use the online voter registration system will be maintained by the secretary of state.E. Processing electronic voter registration forms received from the MVD.(1) Upon receipt of any electronic application forwarded to the county clerk via the voter records system, the application shall be processed as described in Subsection A of 1.10.35.8 NMAC.(2) The electronic voter registration system will generate an image of a voter registration certificate which shall be included as part of the statewide voter registration system and shall be printed and maintained as part of the county register pursuant to Section 1-4-12 NMSA 1978.F. Processing incomplete or ineligible electronic or online voter registration applications: This section applies to all electronically submitted voter registration applications. (1) Upon determining that the electronic or online voter registration application does not contain a valid physical address, includes a non-standard address with no mailing address, or is otherwise not filled out in proper form, the county clerk shall place the voter in "suspense" status with the status reason of "incomplete application." The county clerk shall attempt to contact the applicant to request a corrected voter registration form within five business days, but as soon as is practicable.(2) After 45 days of an electronic record remaining in "suspense" status, the county clerk shall place the voter in "removable" status with a reason of "incomplete application" until such time the voter submits a completed application. Additionally, the clerk shall print the affected voter registration certificate image(s), mark as removable with the applicable status reason, and maintain as part of the county register pursuant to Section 1-4-12 NMSA 1978.(3) Upon determining that the electronic or online voter registration application is ineligible by reason of felony incarceration, death, or other applicable reason pursuant to Section 1-4-24 NMSA 1978, the county clerk shall process the application with the applicable status and status reason code as follows:(a) If a county clerk determines that the applicant has a death record in the voter records system, the county clerk shall contact the SOS to receive confirmation and a copy of the state vital records death certificate. Upon confirmation, the application shall be processed with a status of "removable" and a status reason of "deceased" and shall refer the matter to the assigned election prosecutor within the district attorney's office for investigation.(b) If a county clerk determines that the applicant is incarcerated in a correctional facility as a result of a felony conviction, the county clerk shall process the application with a status of "not eligible" and a status reason of "felony incarceration." Additionally, the county clerk shall send a notice to the applicant with an explanation that an otherwise qualified elector is ineligible to register to vote while incarcerated in a correctional facility for a felony conviction. The notice shall also provide the elector with information on how they can become eligible or how to update or correct the information in the voter records system, within five business days, but as soon as is practicable.(c) If a county clerk determines that the applicant is ineligible for any other reason, the county clerk shall process the application with a status of "removable" and the applicable status reason.1.10.35.8 NMAC - N, 3-15-2012, Amended by New Mexico Register, Volume XXVII, Issue 03, February 12, 2016, eff. 2/12/2016, Amended by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXI, Issue 07, April 7, 2020, eff. 4/7/2020, Amended by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXIV, Issue 16, August 29, 2023, eff. 8/31/2023