Laws governing recall in New Mexico
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The recall of local elected government officials in New Mexico is authorized in §9 of Article 10 of the New Mexico Constitution (county officials), in §14 of Article 12 (school officials), and in NMSA 3-14-16 (elected officials in commission-manager municipalities).
Who may be recalled?
- Article X authorizes recall of elected officials of New Mexico's 33 counties.
- Article XII authorizes recall of elected officials of school districts
- NMSA 3-14-16 authorizes recall of elected officials of commission-manager municipalities.
Features of the law
Grounds for recall
- See also: Grounds required for recall elections
Counties: Allowable grounds are "malfeasance or misfeasance in office or violation of the oath of office by the official concerned." The acts cited as grounds must have taken place during the elected official's current term in office.
School boards: Allowable grounds are "malfeasance or misfeasance in office or violation of the oath of office."
Commission-manager municipalities: Allowable grounds are "malfeasance or misfeasance in office or a violation of the oath of office based upon acts or failures to act occurring during the current term of the official sought to be recalled."[1]
Signature requirements
| Can you recall a federal official? | |
| The U.S. Constitution does not provide for recall of any elected federal official. Although some state constitutions have stated that their citizens have the right to recall members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on whether this is constitutional at the federal level. Read Ballotpedia's explanation » | |
Counties: Signatures equalling 33.3% of the number of voters who voted in the last election for the office held by the recall target are required to force a recall election.
School boards: "The recall petition shall be signed by registered voters not less in number than thirty-three and one-third percent of those who voted for the office at the last preceding election at which the office was voted upon."
Commission-manager municipalities: Signatures are required from "qualified electors in a number more than twenty percent of the average number of voters who voted at the previous four regular municipal elections or more than twenty percent of the number of voters who voted at the previous regular municipal election, whichever is the greater."[1]
There is no time limit for gathering the required signatures.
Time limitation
Counties: A recall election cannot be conducted after May 1 in a calendar year in which an election is to be held for the office subject to the proposed recall.
Commission-manager municipalities: "If the municipal clerk has so verified the petition, the commission shall call a special election unless the regular municipal election occurs within sixty days, in which case the qualified electors shall vote on the recall at the regular election."[1]
See also
- Laws governing recall
- States that have pre-petition signature requirements for recalls
- States that require grounds for recalls
Footnotes
