New Mexico Constitution Art. XX, § 3. Commencement of term of office

A. The term of office of every state, county or district officer, except those elected to fill vacancies, shall commence on the first day of January next after the officer's election.

B. A state, county or district officer elected to fill a vacancy in office shall take office on the first day of January next after the officer's election to serve the remainder of the unexpired term for that office.

C. The term of a state, county or district officer may be adjusted by law to align or stagger the election of officers for a particular state, county or district office throughout the state. Any such adjustment shall require a legislative finding that the adjustment is to provide for consistency in the timing of elections for that office or to balance the number of offices appearing on the ballot. The term of any officer affected by such adjustment shall not be shortened or extended by more than two years. An extended term shall be counted as one term for the purposes of any limitation on the number of terms an officer may serve. A shortened term shall not be counted as a term and shall be disregarded for the purposes of any limitation on the number of terms an officer may serve. No statewide elective office may be adjusted pursuant to this subsection.