Section 3-8-65 - Contest of elections; preservation of ballots; ballots defined; application for order; deposit.
3-8-65. Contest of elections; preservation of ballots; ballots defined; application for order; deposit.
A. Either the contestant or contestee, within the time provided by the Municipal Election Code [Chapter 3, Articles 8 and 9 NMSA 1978] for the preservation of ballots, shall give notice by certified mail to the municipal clerk that a contest is pending in a designated court, and it is the duty of the municipal clerk to preserve the ballots of all precincts named in the notice of contest and to notify the county clerk to impound the ballot sheets and voting machines used in all of the precincts named in the notice of contest until the contest has been finally determined.
B. "Ballots", as used in Subsection A of this section, includes signature rosters, registered voter lists, machine-printed returns, voting machine permits, paper ballots, absentee ballots, absentee ballot outer envelopes, statements of canvass, absentee ballot applications, absentee ballot registers and absentee voter lists.
C. Any contestant or contestee may petition the district court for an order impounding ballots in one or more precincts or consolidated precincts. The petition shall state what specific items of ballots are requested to be impounded. Upon receipt of the petition, along with a cash deposit of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per precinct or consolidated precinct, the court may issue an order of impoundment.