Campaign finance requirements for New Mexico ballot measures

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Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in New Mexico must adhere to the state's campaign finance laws. These laws regulate the amounts and sources of money given or received for political purposes; in addition, campaign finance laws stipulate disclosure requirements for political contributions and expenditures.

Proponents of more stringent regulations and disclosure requirements, such as the Brennan Center for Justice, claim that current laws do not go far enough to mitigate corruption and the influence of undisclosed special interests. Others, such as the Institute for Free Speech, argue that strict disclosure requirements and contribution limits impinge upon the rights to privacy and free expression.

In New Mexico, groups that are organized to influence the outcome of a ballot measure election are considered political committees. For the two-year period beginning in November 2014, an individual cannot give more than $5,400 per election to a political committee (i.e., $5,400 for the primary and $5,400 for the general election).

The laws and regulations that apply to ballot measure campaigns may differ from those that apply to candidates for political office. To learn more about campaign finance requirements for candidates, see this article.

New Mexico ballot measures

See also: Ballot measure

A ballot measure is any question or issue that appears on an election ballot to be approved or rejected by voters. In 26 states, plus Washington, D.C., citizens may use the initiative and referendum process, which permits citizens to petition to place measures on the ballot and usually involves a signature collection process of some kind. Even in states without initiative and referendum processes, however, ballot measures exist. In all states, citizens may be asked to approve legislatively referred constitutional amendments, state statutes, bond issues or tax proposals.

In New Mexico, ballot measures come in the following forms: legislatively referred constitutional amendments, legislatively referred state statutes and veto referenda.

Organizational requirements

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." A political committee must register with the New Mexico Secretary of State within 10 days of "receiving, contributing or expending in excess or $500. In order to register, the committee must pay a $50 filing fee and file a statement of organization. This statement must include the following information:

1. the name of the committee
2. the committee's purpose
3. the names and addresses of the committee's officers
4. "an identification of the bank used by the committee for all expenditures or contributions made or received"

See form: Political Committee Registration Form

Contribution limits

In New Mexico, campaign contribution limits are adjusted to account for inflation. According to state law, "on the day after each general election, the contribution amounts ... shall be increased by the percentage of the preceding two calendar year's increase of the consumer index for all urban consumers, United States city average for all items, published by the United States Department of Labor." Following the 2014 election cycle, campaign contribution limits in New Mexico were adjusted as follows:

1. A person cannot donate more than $5,400 per election to a political committee (i.e., $5,400 during the primary season and $5,400 during the general election season).
2. A political committee cannot donate more than $5,400 per election to another political committee (i.e., $5,400 during the primary season and $5,400 during the general election season).

Reporting requirements

During an election year, a political committee must file a series of regular campaign finance reports. These reports detail the committee's receipts and expenditures during a given period. For each contribution received, the committee must report the donor's name and address. For contributions exceeding $250, the donor's occupation must also be reported. For all expenditures made by the committee, the committee must report the recipient's name and address, as well as the amount and purpose of the expenditure. Reports must be filed with the secretary of state according to the following schedule:

1. "by 5:00 p.m. on the second Monday in April, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before the first Monday in April and not previously reported"
2. "by 5:00 p.m. on the second Monday in May, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before the first Monday in May and not previously reported"
3. "by 5:00 p.m. on the second Monday in September, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before the first Monday in September and not previously reported"
4. "by 5:00 p.m. on the second Monday in October, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before the first Monday in October and not previously reported"
5. "by 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday before a primary, general or statewide special election, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received by 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday before the election"
6. "by 5:00 p.m. on the thirtieth day after a primary, general or statewide special election, a report of all expenditures made and contributions received on or before the twenty-fifth day after the election and not previously reported"

In addition, if a committee involved in a statewide race receives a contribution equaling $2,500 or more in the week preceding an election, the committee must report that contribution within 24 hours of receipt.

During non-election years, biannual reports are due in April and October.

Year-specific reporting dates

2021

The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in New Mexico in 2021.

Campaign finance reporting deadlines in New Mexico, 2021
Report	Reporting period	Filing deadline
First biannual report	January 1, 2021 – April 5, 2021	April 12, 2021
Second biannual report	April 6, 2021 – October 4, 2021	October 11, 2021
Source: New Mexico Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Reporting Schedule," accessed July 14, 2021

2016

The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in New Mexico in 2016.

Campaign finance reporting deadlines in New Mexico, 2016
Report	Reporting period	Filing deadline
First primary report	October 6, 2015 - April 4, 2016	April 11, 2016
Second primary report	April 5, 2016 - May 2, 2016	May 9, 2016
Third primary report	May 3, 2016 - May 31, 2016	June 2, 2016
Fourth primary report	June 1, 2016 - July 2, 2016	July 7, 2016
First general election report	July 3, 2016 - September 5, 2016	September 12, 2016
Second general election report	September 6, 2016 - October 3, 2016	October 11, 2016
Third general election report	October 4, 2016 - November 1, 2016	November 3, 2016
Fourth general election report	November 2, 2016 - December 3, 2016	December 8, 2016
Source: New Mexico Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Reporting Schedule," accessed December 8, 2015

State agencies

See also: Campaign finance agencies in New Mexico

In New Mexico, there is one primary agency involved in campaign finance regulation.

New Mexico Secretary of State, Elections Bureau

New Mexico Capitol Annex North

325 Don Gaspar, Suite 300

Santa Fe, NM 87501

Telephone: (505) 827-3600

Fax: (505) 827-8403

Campaign finance legislation

The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the New Mexico state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms New Mexico campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Campaign finance requirements for New Mexico ballot measures - Google News

See also

• Campaign finance requirements in New Mexico
• Campaign finance agencies in New Mexico
• List of New Mexico ballot measures

External links

• New Mexico Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Reporting Info"