1. A. In the year in which the president of the United States is elected, the ballot in a primary election and general election shall contain, when applicable, partisan offices to be voted on in the following order:

   1. (1) in a presidential primary, president;
   2. (2) in a general election, president and vice president as a ticket;
   3. (3) United States senator;
   4. (4) United States representative;
   5. (5) state senator;
   6. (6) state representative;
   7. (7) supreme court;
   8. (8) court of appeals;
   9. (9) public education commission;
   10. (10) district attorney;
   11. (11) district court;
   12. (12) metropolitan court;
   13. (13) county clerk;
   14. (14) county treasurer;
   15. (15) county commission; and

   16. (16) when applicable:

       1. (a) county sheriff;
       2. (b) county assessor; and
       3. (c) probate judge.

2. B. In the year in which the governor is elected, the ballot in a primary election and general election shall contain, when applicable, partisan offices to be voted on in the following order:

   1. (1) United States senator;
   2. (2) United States representative;
   3. (3) in a major political party primary, governor;
   4. (4) in a major political party primary, lieutenant governor;
   5. (5) in a general election, governor and lieutenant governor as a ticket;
   6. (6) secretary of state;
   7. (7) attorney general;
   8. (8) state auditor;
   9. (9) state treasurer;
   10. (10) commissioner of public lands;
   11. (11) state representative;
   12. (12) supreme court;
   13. (13) court of appeals;
   14. (14) public education commission;
   15. (15) district court;
   16. (16) metropolitan court;
   17. (17) magistrate court;
   18. (18) county sheriff;
   19. (19) county assessor;
   20. (20) county commission;
   21. (21) probate judge; and

   22. (22) when applicable:

       1. (a) county clerk; and
       2. (b) county treasurer.

3. C. The ballot in a regular local election shall contain, when applicable, nonpartisan offices to be voted on in the following order:

   1. (1) municipal, with elective executive officers listed first, governing board members listed second and judicial officers listed third;
   2. (2) board of education of a school district;
   3. (3) community college, branch community college, technical and vocational institute district or learning center district; and
   4. (4) special districts listed in order by voting population of each special district, with the most populous listed first and the least populous listed last.

4. D. The ballot in a statewide election shall contain, when applicable, nonpartisan judicial retention and in a statewide or special election, when applicable, ballot questions to be voted on in the following order, unless a different order is prescribed by the secretary of state:

   1. (1) judicial retention;
   2. (2) proposed state constitutional amendments;
   3. (3) other state ballot questions;
   4. (4) county ballot questions; and
   5. (5) local government ballot questions listed in the same order as the list of local governments in Subsection C of this section.
5. E. When multiple positions for the same nondistricted, nonjudicial office are to be elected on the same ballot and the qualifications for each position are the same, the nondistricted, nonjudicial district shall be elected at large in a single contest on the ballot in which voters shall be given the instruction to "vote for no more than X". If two or more positions for the same office are to be elected to represent the same area but with terms of different lengths of time, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected to the position with the longest term length, and the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes shall be elected to the position with the next longest term length, with additional candidates elected to positions accordingly.

6. F. When multiple positions for the same districted, nonjudicial office are listed on the same ballot or the qualifications for one or more at-large positions are distinct from the qualifications of the rest:

   1. (1) offices designated by district number shall appear on the ballot in ascending numerical order of the districts; and
   2. (2) offices not designated by district number shall appear on the ballot in ascending numerical order of the position; provided that the secretary of state shall numerically designate the positions on the ballot as "position one", "position two" and such additional consecutively numbered positions as are necessary, and only one member shall be elected for each position.

7. G. When multiple positions for the same judicial office are listed on the same ballot, each position is to be elected or voted on individually as follows:

   1. (1) district, metropolitan and magistrate court positions, either for partisan election or for nonpartisan judicial retention, shall appear on the ballot in ascending numerical order of the division number assigned to each position;
   2. (2) supreme court and court of appeals for partisan election shall appear on the ballot in ascending numerical order of the position number designated by the secretary of state for that election, based on the date of the vacancy causing the position to be listed on the ballot; provided that if multiple vacancies occurred on the same day, the positions shall appear on the ballot based on the order of seniority of the justice or judge who vacated the position, with the highest seniority listed first; and
   3. (3) supreme court and court of appeals for nonpartisan judicial retention shall appear on the ballot in ascending numerical order of the position number designated by the secretary of state for that election, based on the seniority of the justice or judge seeking retention, with the highest seniority listed first.

History: 1953 Comp., § 3-10-11.8, enacted by Laws 1977, ch. 222, § 31; 1991, ch. 105, § 17; 2011, ch. 56, § 1; 2015, ch. 145, § 58; 1978 Comp., § 1-10-8, repealed and reenacted by Laws 2019, ch. 212, § 103; 2020, ch. 9, § 8; 2023, ch. 39, § 60.

ANNOTATIONS

Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 2019, ch. 212, § 103 repealed former 1-10-8 NMSA 1978, and enacted a new section, effective April 3, 2019.

The 2023 amendment, effective June 16, 2023, revised the order on the ballot that partisan offices are to be voted on in years in which the president of the United States is elected, revised the order on the ballot that partisan offices are to be voted on in years in which the governor is elected, and revised the process for voting on multiple positions for the same office on the same ballot; in Subsection A, Paragraph A(9), after "commission", deleted "districts with odd-numbered designations"; added a new Paragraph A(10) and redesignated former Paragraphs A(10) through A(14) as Paragraphs A(11) through A(15), respectively, and added Paragraph A(16); in Subsection B, Paragraph B(14), after "commission", deleted "districts with even-numbered designations", deleted Paragraph B(16) and redesignated former Paragraphs B(17) through B(22) as Paragraphs B(16) through B(21), respectively, in Paragraph B(20), after "county commission", deleted "districts and positions with even-numbered designations; and", and added Paragraph B(22); added a new Subsection E and redesignated former Subsections E and F as Subsections F and G, respectively; and in Subsection F, in the introductory clause, after "for the same", added "districted", and after "on the same ballot", deleted "and each position is to be elected individually" and added "or the qualifications for one or more at-large positions are distinct from the qualifications of the rest", and deleted Paragraph E(3).

The 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2023, removed the public regulation commission from the order of how candidates are required to appear on the ballot; in Subsection A, deleted Paragraph (9) and redesignated the succeeding paragraphs accordingly; and in Subsection B, deleted Paragraph (14) and redesignated the succeeding paragraphs accordingly.

Laws 2020, ch. 9, § 8 amended 1-10-8 NMSA 1978, effective January 1, 2023, contingent upon the adoption of Laws 2019, SJC/SRC/SJR Nos. 1 and 4, Constitutional Amendment 1, at the general election held on November 3, 2020. Constitutional Amendment 1 was adopted by a vote of 445,655 for and 355,471 against.

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2019, ch. 212, § 281 provided that the secretary of state shall ensure that the public regulation commission, public education commission, magistrate judges and county officers are aligned with the offices listed for election in Section 1-10-8 NMSA 1978. The secretary of state shall provide a process to renumber district numbers so that offices are aligned with the offices listed for election in Section 1-10-8 NMSA 1978 and, where necessary, shall provide for an extended term to the general election in 2022 or 2024 only as required to align offices and positions to the offices listed for election in Section 1-10-8 NMSA 1978; provided that where one member of a local governing body must receive an extended term pursuant to this section, the secretary of state shall have the members whose terms expire the same year draw lots to make the determination.

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, amended the order in which offices are to be placed on a ballot in primary and general elections; in Subsection D, deleted "candidates for" and added "non-judicial", and after "large, in", added "the"; in Subsection G, after "other", deleted "district candidates" and added "districted offices"; in Subsection H, deleted "metropolitan and magistrate judges" and added "judicial offices in partisan contests, in the order prescribed by the secretary of state"; in Subsection O, deleted "other issues as" and added "in the order"; and added Paragraphs (1) through (3) of Subsection O.

The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, eliminated the position of county surveyor.

The 1991 amendment, effective April 2, 1991, rewrote this section to the extent that a detailed comparison would be impracticable.

Order declaration of candidacy filed. — All candidates for legislative, judicial district, county and precinct offices are to appear on the ballot for a particular office in the order in which they filed a declaration of candidacy. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-18 (opinion rendered under former law).