New Mexico Statutes Chapter 1. Elections § 1-8-66. General elections; write-in candidates

A. A person desiring to be a write-in candidate in a general election shall file with the proper filing officer between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-third day after the primary election a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, accompanied by a petition signed by a number of voters equal to at least one percent of the total number of votes cast in the area sought to be represented as were cast for governor at the last preceding general election at which a governor was elected.

B. A person shall not be a declared write-in candidate until the person has been notified in writing by the proper filing officer that the certificate of registration on file, the declaration of candidacy and the nominating petition, if required, are in proper order and that the person, based on those documents, is qualified to be a candidate. The proper filing officer shall mail the notice on the Friday following the filing date. The determination by the proper filing officer that a person is a declared write-in candidate is subject to the provisions of Section 1-8-18 NMSA 1978.

C. If a person is notified by the proper filing officer that the person is not qualified to be a write-in candidate, the person may challenge that decision by filing a petition with the district court within ten days of the notification. The district court shall hear and render a decision on the matter within ten days after the petition is filed. The decision of the district court may be appealed to the supreme court within five days after the decision is rendered. The supreme court shall hear and render a decision on the appeal forthwith.

D. A write-in candidate shall be considered a candidate for all purposes and provisions relating to candidates in the Election Code, including the obligation to report under the Campaign Reporting Act, except that the candidate shall not be entitled to have the candidate's name printed on the ballot.

E. The secretary of state shall, not more than ten days after the filing date, certify the names of the declared write-in candidates to the county clerks of every county affected by such candidacy.

F. No person shall be a write-in candidate in the general election who was a candidate or who filed a declaration of candidacy in the primary election immediately prior to the general election. A write-in candidate for governor or lieutenant governor in the general election shall have a companion write-in candidate, and they shall be candidates to be elected jointly by the casting by a voter of a single vote applicable to both offices.