State ex rel. League of Women Voters v. Herrera

Summary

The New Mexico Supreme Court held that NMSA 1978, § 1-9-4.2(B)(4), which permits hand-tallied ballots to be counted when election judges unanimously find the voter's intent clearly discernable, is constitutional on its face. The court concluded that the statute, together with the Secretary of State's Instruction 2008-10, provides sufficiently uniform and nondiscriminatory standards under Bush v. Gore and the Help America Vote Act. The court issued a writ of mandamus directing the Secretary of State to enforce the statutory provision.

Holdings

1. The League may be granted standing to vindicate the public interest in a matter of great public importance, and mandamus is an appropriate remedy to compel the Secretary of State to perform her mandatory statutory duty to enforce the Election Code.
2. NMSA 1978, Section 1-9-4.2(B)(4), as implemented by the Secretary’s Instruction 2008-10, is facially consistent with equal protection principles because the statute’s requirement of unanimous agreement by election judges, combined with detailed statewide guidelines, supplies sufficient uniformity while preserving limited discretion to recognize clear voter intent.
3. The voter-intent provision, together with Instruction 2008-10, satisfies HAVA’s requirement that states adopt uniform and nondiscriminatory standards defining what constitutes a vote and what will be counted as a vote.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the League had standing to seek mandamus in the public interest concerning the validity and counting of individual votes.
2. Whether mandamus was appropriate to compel the Secretary of State to perform the statutory duty imposed by the Election Code.
3. Whether the voter-intent provision in NMSA 1978, Section 1-9-4.2(B)(4), as implemented by Instruction 2008-10, violated equal protection principles under Bush v. Gore.
4. Whether the voter-intent provision and implementing guidelines complied with the Help America Vote Act’s requirement for uniform and nondiscriminatory standards defining what constitutes a vote.

Disposition

writ_granted