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Rules governing school board election dates and timing in New Mexico
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| New Mexico overview: • Election dates: Off cycle |
| Key policies: • Election dates and timing • Party labels on the ballot |
| Key terms • On-cycle elections • Off-cycle elections • Off-year elections • Off-date elections • Party labels • Partisan elections • Nonpartisan elections |
School board general elections in New Mexico are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, every two years in odd-numbered years.
See law: New Mexico Statute Section 1-22-3
There were 89 public school districts in New Mexico with a total of 445 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 814 schools serving 315,372 students.
You will find the following information on this page:
- the timing and frequency of school board elections
- candidate filing deadlines
- the number of school board members
- the length of school board terms
- the way in which elections for different board seats are staggered
- how New Mexico compares to other states
- when new board members officially take office.
Across the country, there are 13,024 public school districts governed by a total of about 82,600 board members. Most school board members are elected directly by voters, while a small number of districts have appointed school board members or a combination of appointed and elected school board members.
The timing of elections for school board members varies widely across states and even across districts in the same state in some cases. In 14 states, most school board elections are held on-cycle with federal elections in November of even-numbered years. Most school board elections in the other states are held off-cycle. This includes off-date elections—for example, elections held in the spring or summer—and off-year elections held in odd-numbered years.
On-cycle local elections have higher voter turnout than off-cycle local elections.
The information in this page was last updated in 2022. Please email editor@ballotpedia.org with any updates, corrections, exceptions, or improvements.
Election dates and frequency
School board general elections in New Mexico are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, every two years in odd-numbered years.
See law: New Mexico Statute Section 1-22-3
Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: August 26, 2025
- General election date: November 4, 2025
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates must file declarations of candidacy by 5:00 PM on the 70th day prior to the election.
See law: New Mexico Statute 1-22-7
School board candidates can file between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM on the 70th day prior to the election.
See law: New Mexico Statute 1-22-7
Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first day of January following their election.
See law: New Mexico Statute 1-2-18
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in New Mexico are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.
See law: New Mexico Statute Section 1-22-3
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in New Mexico are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. New Mexico Statute Section 1-22-3(B) states, "A regular local election shall be a nonpartisan election, and the names of all candidates shall be listed on the ballot with no party or slate designation."
See law: New Mexico Statute Section 1-22-3
What it takes to win an election
The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in the general election is elected to office.
See law: New Mexico Constitution Article VII Section 5
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
A local school board has five members, or it can have seven if a resolution is passed to increase the number of members. As of 2022, only Albuquerque Public School District has seven school board members.
See law: New Mexico Statue 22-5-1 & 22-5-3
Board member term lengths
School board members have four-year terms.
See law: New Mexico Statute 22-5-8
School board member election staggering
School districts elect as close as to half of their school board members as possible at one general election, and the other half at a general election two years later. Upon the formation of a newly created, three school board members will be elected for two-year terms and the other two school board members will be elected for four-year terms to ensure staggered elections. Albuquerque School District is the only district with seven board members, and elects four school board members at one general election and the other three school board members two years later.
See law: New Mexico Statute 22-4-13
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
School board members are elected either at large or from single-member election subdistricts, depending on the size of the school district. As of 2022, 28 districts (31%) had board members elected by single-member district and 61 districts (69%) had board members elected by at-large.
School board members in districts having a population in excess of 16,000 must be elected from single-member subdistricts.
School boards in districts with less than 16,000 population have the option of establishing single-member board subdistricts or continuing to elect members at large.
See law: New Mexico Statute 22-5-1.1 & New Mexico School Boards Association Handbook Chapter II Section A
How does New Mexico compare to other states?
Across the country, there are 13,187 public school districts governed by a total of 83,183 school board members. They are elected directly by voters except for a small handful of exceptions who are appointed.
The analysis below is based on state laws governing school board elections and some researched common practices. In some states, the state law mandates a specific date. In others, the laws allow districts to choose their own election date from a range or a list of allowed dates or through charter provisions.
- 25 states have school board elections that are mostly held off cycle from federal elections. This includes both off-year and off-date elections.
- 10 of those states have school board elections that are mostly or at least commonly held on election dates in November of odd-numbered years.
- 16 of those states have school board elections mostly or at least commonly held on election dates that are not in November.
- 14 states have school board elections that are mostly held on cycle with federal elections in November of even-numbered years.
- 9 states either do not have state laws or overwhelmingly common practices that determine a specific school board election date or have varying school board election dates.
- Hawaii has a single, appointed school board.
See also
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School board election rules: |
School board election coverage: |
Terms and context: |
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Footnotes
