New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 11 - LABOR AND WORKERS' COMPENSATION
Chapter 21 - LABOR UNIONS/LABOR RELATIONS
Part 2 - REPRESENTATION PROCEEDINGS
Section 11.21.2.30 - CHALLENGED BALLOTS

A. Any party to an election, through its observer, or the election supervisor, may challenge the eligibility to vote of any person who presents himself or herself at the polls, and shall state the reason for the challenge. The director shall challenge any voter whose name does not appear on the list of employees eligible to vote.

B. The director shall furnish "challenge envelopes." On the outside of each challenge envelope, the director shall write the name and job classification of the challenged voter, the name of the party making the challenge, and the reason for the challenge.

C. Following the voting and before the votes are counted, the director shall attempt to resolve the eligibility of challenged voters by agreement of the parties. The ballots of challenged voters who are agreed eligible shall be mixed with the other ballots and counted.

D. Challenged ballot envelopes containing unresolved challenged ballots shall not be opened and the challenges shall not be investigated unless, after the other ballots are counted, the challenged ballots could be determinative of the outcome of the election.

E. If the challenged ballots could be determinative of the outcome of the election, the director shall declare the vote inconclusive; shall, as soon as possible, investigate the challenged ballots to determine voter eligibility; and shall issue a report thereon or a notice of hearing within 15 days of the election. Any party may request board review of the director's report, following the procedures set forth in Section 22 above.

F. Following resolution of determinative challenged ballots, the director shall count the ballot of voters found to be eligible, adding the results of the earlier count and issuing a revised tally of ballots.