Laws governing local ballot measures in New Mexico
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This page describes the state constitutional provisions and statutes that govern local ballot measures in New Mexico. Jurisdictions often establish additional rules within the parameters of state law; those can be found in local ordinances and home-rule charters.
Explore the links below for more information:
- Laws addressing local ballot measure powers in New Mexico
- General requirements for local ballot measures
- Rules for citizen-initiated local ballot measures
- Rules for referred local ballot measures
Law
The New Mexico Constitution and New Mexico Statutes establish the rules that govern local ballot measures in the state.
- Constitution: Articles IX and X of the New Mexico Constitution
- Statute: New Mexico Statutes, Chapter 1 and Chapter 3
General
The following outlines the general rules that govern local ballot measures in New Mexico, including both citizen-initiated measures and referred measures from local government bodies.
- Vote requirements: Local ballot measures generally require a simple majority vote for approval.
- Election timing:
- Initiated charter adoption elections and proposed charters referred to the ballot by a city, county, or both are required to be special elections held within 60 days after the charter commission adopts the charter. If it is defeated, the charter adoption question cannot be resubmitted for two years.[1][2]
- Measures referred to the ballot by local governing bodies can appear on regular local election ballots, general election ballots, or a special election.[3]
- Required measures: State law requires voter approval to levy city excise taxes, to issue specific bond measures, to authorize the city to acquire a utility by funding from bonds, to expend from a local government's permanent fund established by ordinance, to levy 0.25% capital outlay or quality of life gross receipts tax, to impose a city gas tax in certain counties, to levy a lodging fee for sports and recreation facilities, and to allow beer and wine sales by restaurants within the city.[4][5]
- Prohibited measures: State law prohibits advisory questions from being placed on local ballots.[6]
Initiatives
The following outlines the general rules that govern local citizen-initiated ballot measures in New Mexico. State law authorizes municipal charters to supersede state law with certain aspects of the initiative process, such as petition verification and examination.[7][8]
- Authority: The New Mexico Constitution authorizes registered qualified voters to use the initiative process to amend home-rule charters as prescribed by law.[7]
- Signatures:
- For petitions to force a vote on municipal districts or to order the drafting of a charter by a commission, the petition must contain signatures from 5% of registered qualified voters of the city.[7]
- For petitions seeking to disincorporate cities with populations of 10,000 or less, signatures must equal 10% of the registered voters of the city.[9]
- For initiated ordinances in commission-manager cities, petitions must contain signatures equal to 20% of the average number of voters at the previous four regular municipal elections or 20% of the number of voters who voted at the previous regular municipal election, whichever is greater.[10]
- Deadlines:
- Signatures for petitions to force a vote on municipal districts can only be collected for six months, and the measure must appear on the next regular city election held not less than 60 days after the petition was filed.[7]
- For initiated ordinances in commission-manager cities, if the governing body does not act on the petition within 30 days, the initiative must be sent to voters at a special election within 90 days.[10]
- The city clerk, county clerk, governing body or board of county commissioners has 10 days from the petition filing date to certify the number of valid signatures.[11]
- Subject restriction: State law limits the power of initiative in general law mayor-council cities to the following:[5]
- Reorganization of a municipality incorporated under a special act,
- Disincorporation of the municipality,
- Increase or decrease the number of members of the governing body,
- Vote on changing to a commission/manager form of government,
- Adoption of a municipal charter,
- Authority to sell or lease municipal facilities or real property with a value in excess of $25,000,
- Establishment of a supervised recreational system,
- Levy a regular municipal gross receipts tax,
- Authority to sell alcoholic beverages on Sunday within the municipality, and
- Authority to bring the municipal utility under the Public Utilities Act.
Referrals
The following outlines the general rules that govern local referred ballot measures in New Mexico.
- Authority:
- General authority: State law authorizes the governing body of a municipality to place a question on the ballot at the request of a county, school, or special district.[12]
- Charter amendments: State law authorizes only city governments to amend city charters by submitting the amendment to voters. Charters governing city-county municipal corporations can be amended as provided by the adopted charter.[13]Cite error: Closing
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- Deadlines: The local governing body referring a ballot question to the ballot must file a resolution with the county clerk at least 70 days before the election.[14]
Laws governing local ballot measures in the U.S.
Laws governing local ballot measures in the United States
As state laws govern ballot measures, the rules are different from state to state. Click on a state below to explore that state's laws on local ballot measures.
See also
- Laws governing local ballot measures
- Laws governing ballot measures in New Mexico
- Local ballot measures, New Mexico
- Counties in New Mexico
Footnotes
- ↑ > New Mexico One Source, "Section 3-15-4 NMSA 1978," accessed December 5, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico One Source, "Section 3-16-2 NMSA 1978," accessed December 5, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico One Source, "Section 1-22-3 NMSA 1978," accessed December 8, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico One Source, "Section 3-15-7 NMSA 1978," accessed December 5, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 New Mexico Municipal League, "Questions that may be placed on the ballot," accessed December 8, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico One Source, "Section 1-16-8 NMSA 1978," accessed December 8, 2025
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 New Mexico Secretary of State, "Article X, Section 6," accessed December 5, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico One Source, "Section 3-1-5 NMSA 1978," accessed Decemebr 8, 2025
- ↑ New Secretary of State, "Article X, Section 11," accessed December 5, 2025
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 New Mexico One Source, "Section 3-14-18 NMSA 1978," accessed Decemebr 5, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico One Source, "Section 3-1-5 NMSA 1978," accessed Decemebr 5, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico One Source, "Section 1-22-3.1. NMSA 1978," accessed December 5, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico One Source, "Section 3-15-16 NMSA 1978," accessed December 5, 2025
- ↑ New Mexico One Source, "Section 1-16-3 NMSA 1978," accessed December 8, 2025
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