Section 1-9-7.1 - Voting system; use of paper ballot.
1-9-7.1. Voting system; use of paper ballot.
A. All voting systems used in elections covered by the Election Code [Chapter 1 NMSA 1978] shall use a paper ballot on which the voter physically or electronically marks the voter's choices on the ballot itself; provided, however, that voting systems owned or used by a county on May 1, 2006 that do not use a paper ballot may be used until an adequate supply of voting systems is available and sufficient federal, state or local funds are available:
(1) to replace the voting systems;
(2) to acquire the necessary software;
(3) for the secretary of state to purchase the paper ballots for all counties to use on the new voting system for primary and general elections; and
(4) to hold the counties harmless for payments due for voting systems under lease-purchase agreements entered into pursuant to Sections 1-9-17 through 1-9-19 NMSA 1978.
B. In any event, a voting system shall not be used if it has not been certified by the secretary of state and if a competitive bid process has not been conducted by the secretary of state pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 13, Article 1 NMSA 1978.
C. The paper ballot shall be used by the state or its contractor to check either the veracity of a machine count or the count itself, and shall be used in a recount proceeding as are absentee ballots, and in case of a discrepancy, the paper ballot shall be considered the true and correct record of the voter's choices.