1. A. Unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling place consists of possession of a loaded or unloaded firearm by any person within:

   1. (1) one hundred feet of the door through which voters may enter to vote at a school building in which a polling place is located while early voting is in progress or on election day;
   2. (2) one hundred feet of the door through which voters may enter to vote at the office of the county clerk, an alternate voting location, a mobile voting site or any location used as a polling place while early voting is in progress or on election day that is not a school; or
   3. (3) fifty feet of a monitored secured container as used in Subsection E of Section 1-6-9 NMSA 1978, beginning twenty-eight days before an election through election day.

2. B. The provisions of Subsection A of this section do not apply to:

   1. (1) a certified law enforcement officer in performance of the officer's official duties;
   2. (2) a law enforcement officer who is certified pursuant to the Law Enforcement Training Act [Chapter 29, Article 7 NMSA 1978] acting in accordance with the policies of the officer's law enforcement agency;
   3. (3) a commissioned law enforcement officer with the power to arrest in performance of the officer's official duties;
   4. (4) a commissioned law enforcement officer with the power to arrest acting in accordance with the policies of the officer's law enforcement agency;
   5. (5) a person in a private automobile or other private means of conveyance; or
   6. (6) a person carrying a concealed firearm who is in possession of a valid concealed handgun license for that firearm pursuant to the Concealed Handgun Carry Act [Chapter 29, Article 19 NMSA 1978].
3. C. A person conducting lawful, non-election-related business nearer than one hundred feet from the door through which voters may enter to vote or nearer than fifty feet from a monitored secured container is not guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling place.
4. D. A person who commits unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling place is guilty of a petty misdemeanor and shall be sentenced pursuant to Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.
5. E. For the purposes of this section, "firearm" means a weapon that will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosion, or the frame or receiver of any such weapon.

History: Laws 2024, ch. 50, § 1; 2025, ch. 28, § 1.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2025 amendment, effective June 20, 2025, exempted commissioned law enforcement officers from the crime of unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling place; and in Subsection B, added new Paragraphs B(3) and B(4), and redesignated former Paragraphs B(3) and B(4) as Paragraphs B(5) and B(6), respectively.