No person shall be deemed to have acquired or lost residence by reason of his presence or absence while employed in the service of the United States or of the state, nor while a student at any school.

ANNOTATIONS

Compiler's notes. — Senate Joint Resolution No. 3 (Laws 1953) proposed an amendment to this section to provide for absentee voting by adding the following sentence at the end of the section: "The legislature may enact laws providing for the voting of qualified electors who cannot be physically present at their polling places on the day of any election." The amendment received better than a 50% favorable vote at the special election held in September, 1953, but failed to become a part of the constitution under a ruling of the attorney general of Sept. 25, 1953 (1953 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 53-5819), in that it failed to receive the majority requisite under N.M. Const., art. XIX, § 1.

Comparable provisions. — Idaho Const., art. VI, § 5.

Section deals only with residence for voting or holding office; hence, legislature may confer resident status upon persons stationed within the state by military assignment for purposes of divorce jurisdiction. Wilson v. Wilson, 1954-NMSC-069, 58 N.M. 411, 272 P.2d 319; see also, Crownover v. Crownover, 1954-NMSC-092, 58 N.M. 597, 274 P.2d 127.

New domicile may not be acquired by mere fact of stationing. — This section of constitution does not mean that a soldier stationed in this state may not acquire residence in New Mexico, but it does mean that he may not acquire a residence from the mere fact that he was stationed therein for whatever period of time he may be so stationed. Allen v. Allen, 1948-NMSC-024, 52 N.M. 174, 194 P.2d 270.

New domicile may be acquired by soldier just as by any civilian provided both the fact and the intent concur. Allen v. Allen, 1948-NMSC-024, 52 N.M. 174, 194 P.2d 270.

Residence is largely matter of intention, but a mere declaration of intention is insufficient if inconsistent with the facts and actions. A candidate for office is not ineligible because while away at school he voted in a local election. 1914 Op. Att'y Gen. Nos. 14-1324, 14-1333 and 14-1402.

Effect of tax payment. — Payment of state taxes may be considered as indicia of mental intent to maintain and keep New Mexico residency. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-26.

Temporary absence. — Once a bona fide residence is established in New Mexico, mere temporary absence from the state would not in and of itself alter residency. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-26.

Soldiers' right to vote. — Soldiers who have actually maintained their residence as herein prescribed are entitled to vote. 1920 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 20-2491.

Resident hunting license. — Army service alone is not sufficient to enable a person to acquire bona fide residence in this state for the purpose of obtaining a resident hunting license, but a resident of this state stationed outside its boundaries would still be entitled to such a license. 1931 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 31-280.

Holding office after out-of-state service. — A person who has left the physical limits of the state to serve with the armed forces of the United States after having once established residence here is eligible to hold an executive office. 1960 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 60-27.

Acquisition of residence in county where stationed. — This provision does not prevent persons who remove to a county while in service of the United States or this state from acquiring a residence in that county if they actually intend to do so. 1936 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 36-1348.

Resident student defined. — A resident student is one who shall have resided in the state of New Mexico for at least one year before registering as a student in any college or university in the state or whose parent or guardian shall have resided in the state for at least one year before such registration. 1951 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 51-5410.

Acquisition of resident status by student. — Under existing law one's status as a resident or nonresident student is not conditioned by any stated period of residing in New Mexico prior to matriculating in any state-supported college or university. Determination, in the final analysis, must be made by reference to the students' acts manifesting a desire to give up an earlier existing residence and to establish a new one in New Mexico, or a similar manifestation of parents in the case of unemancipated minor children. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-68.

Temporary attendance, without more, insufficient. — Students at the school of mines (New Mexico institute of mining and technology) are not qualified to vote in local city election by reason of temporary attendance at school there. 1938 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 38-1915.

Intent determinative. — Set of "uniform definitions" promulgated by the board of educational finance and purporting to define resident and nonresident students for administering tuition fees, were not in keeping with constitution and statutes of the state; any revision of the definitions must be made so as to give effect to one's manifest intent to become a resident of the state. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-68. See also, 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-26.

A person cannot ordinarily acquire or lose residence while a student at any school, but it depends principally upon intention coupled with some overt act. 1936 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 36-1451.

Dependency is strong evidence of residence with parents, but a person cannot ordinarily acquire or lose residence while a student for it is principally a matter of intention. 1936 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 36-1279.

Effect of twenty-sixth amendment. — Twenty-sixth amendment to the federal constitution had effect of emancipating the 18- to 20-year-old voter for purposes of establishing his residence for voting purposes. 1971 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 71-119.

Evidence to be viewed liberally. — Evidentiary facts supporting the intention of a student to establish residence in New Mexico should be construed with a liberal view; the fact that he is paying one type of tuition as opposed to another, or residing in a dormitory as opposed to a private residence, should not affect his status as a resident of this state for the purpose of exercising his constitutionally granted elective franchise. 1960 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 60-94.

Attendance at out-of-state school. — The fact that a resident of this state is attending school outside its boundaries does not deprive him of his residence within the state. 1933 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 33-688.

Law reviews. — For student symposium, "Constitutional Revision - Constitutional Amendment Process," see 9 Nat. Resources J. 422 (1969).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 25 Am. Jur. 2d Elections § 163 et seq.

Age, sex, residence, etc., validity of statute requiring information as to, as condition of right to vote, 14 A.L.R. 160, 62 A.L.R. 1167, 74 A.L.R. 163.

Military establishment, state voting rights of residents of, 34 A.L.R.2d 1193.

Residence or domicile of student or teacher for purpose of voting, 98 A.L.R.2d 488, 44 A.L.R.3d 797.

29 C.J.S. Elections §§ 19, 21, 22, 24, 25.