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New Mexico Statutes § 1-20-24 Unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling place

⤴ Up to Article 20: Offenses and Penalties

Statute Text

A. Unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling place consists of possession of a loaded or unloaded firearm by any person within:
(1) one hundred feet of the door through which voters may enter to vote at a school building in which a polling place is located while early voting is in progress or on election day;
(2) one hundred feet of the door through which voters may enter to vote at the office of the county clerk, an alternate voting location, a mobile voting site or any location used as a polling place while early voting is in progress or on election day that is not a school; or
(3) fifty feet of a monitored secured container as used in Subsection E of Section 1-6-9 NMSA 1978, beginning twenty-eight days before an election through election day.
B. The provisions of Subsection A of this section do not apply to:
(1) a certified law enforcement officer in performance of the officer's official duties;
(2) a law enforcement officer who is certified pursuant to the Law Enforcement Training Act [Chapter 29, Article 7 NMSA 1978] acting in accordance with the policies of the officer's law enforcement agency;
(3) a person in a private automobile or other private means of conveyance; or
(4) a person carrying a concealed firearm who is in possession of a valid concealed handgun license for that firearm pursuant to the Concealed Handgun Carry Act [Chapter 29, Article 19 NMSA 1978].
C. A person conducting lawful, non-election-related business nearer than one hundred feet from the door through which voters may enter to vote or nearer than fifty feet from a monitored secured container is not guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling place.
D. A person who commits unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling place is guilty of a petty misdemeanor and shall be sentenced pursuant to Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.
E. For the purposes of this section, "firearm" means a weapon that will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosion, or the frame or receiver of any such weapon.

History

Added by 2024 , c. 50 , s. 1 , eff. 5/15/2024 .