Opinion No. 65-10
January 22, 1965
TO: Senator C. D. Maestes, New Mexico State Senate, Santa Fe, New Mexico
QUESTION
QUESTIONS
1. Is a woman registered on the poll books under a former married name entitled to have her present married name placed upon the ballot for election to the office of school board member in an Independent School District election?
2. Must ballots used for an Independent School District board election be numbered?
CONCLUSIONS
1. Yes.
2. Yes.
OPINION
{*19} ANALYSIS
We note that Article VII, § 2 of {*20} the Constitution of New Mexico states that a legal resident of the state who is a qualified elector is qualified to hold public office. We must therefore determine what requirements a person should satisfy in order to be a qualified elector.
Article VII, § 1 of the Constitution of New Mexico states:
"Every male citizen of the United States, who is over the age of twenty one years, and has resided in New Mexico twelve months, in the county ninety days, and in the precinct in which he offers to vote thirty days, next preceding the election, except idiots, insane persons, persons convicted of a felonious or infamous crime unless restored to political rights, and Indians not taxed, shall be qualified to vote at all elections for public officers. All school elections shall be held at different times from other elections. Women possessing the qualifications prescribed in this section for male electors shall be qualified electors at all such school elections; . . .
The legislature shall have the power to require the registration of the qualified electors as a requisite for voting, and shall regulate the manner, time and places of voting."
Although this section refers to both qualified voters and qualified electors, it is apparent that the framers of the constitution did not intend that registration be a requirement of a qualified elector. That section expressly states that the legislature may require the qualified electors to register. If we turn to the legislative enactments on registration, we see that the legislature has also determined that registration is not a requirement for a qualified elector.
Section 3-2-6, New Mexico Statutes Annotated, 1953 Compilation (P.S.), in pertinent part says:
"Any qualified elector may register . . . Any qualified elector serving in the military forces of the United States may be registered . . ."
From this section we see that the legislature has said that only qualified electors may register. It is our conclusion, therefore, that registration does not affect the qualifications of a candidate for public office, and the fact that a particular candidate is registered under her former name can have no bearing on the fact that she now appears as a candidate under her present real name.
Your second question asks whether the ballots used in an independent school district board election must be numbered.
The first problem raised by this question is whether or not the general election laws apply to school board elections. Attorney General's Opinion No. 8-1963 states that the general election laws apply to school board elections unless the statutes direct otherwise. We are unable to discover any such contrary direction in the statutes and we therefore conclude that the general election laws apply.
The answer to this question is found in Section 3-3-7(G), New Mexico Statutes Annotated, 1953 Compilation (P.S.). That section provides that the ballots shall be numbered consecutively beginning with the number "1".