Laws governing ballot measures in New Mexico

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Laws governing ballot measures

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State
Laws governing state initiative processes
Laws governing state recall processes
Changes to ballot measure law in 2025
Difficulty analysis of changes to laws governing ballot measures
Analysis of 2025 changes to laws governing ballot measures
Local
Laws governing local ballot measures

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This page provides an overview of resources addressing the laws and procedures that govern statewide and local ballot measures in New Mexico, including the initiative and referendum process, constitutional amendments, signature requirements, recall procedures, and campaign finance regulations.

Explore the links below for more information:

Laws governing ballot measures in New Mexico

Types of ballot measures in New Mexico

  • New Mexico has one type of citizen-initiated ballot measure: [[Veto referendum|veto referendums].


Laws governing the initiative process in New Mexico


Amending the New Mexico Constitution

  • The New Mexico Constitution can be amended in two ways:
    • Legislatively referred constitutional amendment: The state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot, with a simple majority vote in each legislative chamber.
    • Convention-referred constitutional amendment: A state constitutional convention can vote to refer constitutional changes to the ballot.
      • A two-thirds vote is required during one legislative session of the state legislature to place a constitutional convention question on the ballot. A convention is held if the question receives a simple majority of the vote. Voters must also ratify amendments proposed by the convention.


Laws governing local ballot measures in New Mexico


Signature requirements for ballot measures in New Mexico

  • In New Mexico, the number of signatures required for a ballot initiative is tied to the number of votes cast in the preceding general election.
    • A veto referendum requires a number of signatures equal to 10% of the votes cast in the preceding general election and 25% of the votes cast to suspend the law until the election on the referendum.
  • The deadline for submitting signatures is 90 days after the adjournment of the legislative session in which the targeted law was approved.


Laws governing recall in New Mexico

  • New Mexico does not allow the recall of state officials.
  • The New Mexico Constitution does authorize the recall of elected county officials, elected officials of school districts, and officials of commission-manager municipalities.


Laws governing state constitutional conventions in New Mexico

  • A two-thirds vote is required during one legislative session of the state legislature to place a constitutional convention question on the ballot. A convention is held if the question receives a simple majority of the vote. Voters must also ratify amendments proposed by the convention.


Campaign finance requirements for New Mexico ballot measures

  • In New Mexico, a group organized primarily for a "political purpose" is considered a political committee. Under state law, "political purpose" is defined as "influencing or attempting to influence an election or pre-primary convention, including a constitutional amendment or other questions submitted to voters."

Changes to laws governing ballot measures in New Mexico

See also: Changes to laws governing ballot measures
See also: Changes in 2025 to laws governing ballot measures
The New Mexico State Legislature did not pass legislation concerning ballot measures in 2025.

See also

Footnotes