(A) Applicability; Delegation of Election; Administration to PID Board. This section shall not apply if the City Council elects to resume governance of the PID as its board to comply with the terms of a development agreement entered into between the City, the PID, and the developer/landowner, or for other reasons as determined by the City Council in its discretion as authorized under Section 5-11-9(C) NMSA of the Act. With respect to elections of PID board members, it is the policy of the City that all elections held pursuant to Section 5-11-7 NMSA of the Act shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of this section on behalf of City Council, and the responsibility for the conduct and administration of certain aspects of such board elections pursuant to the provisions of this policy shall be delegated to the board of directors of each PID formed by the City.
(1) After a PID is organized and the first board is appointed, the PID board shall govern the conduct of all subsequent regular and special elections of the PID, determine when all subsequent regular and special elections of the PID are to be held, may consult with and obtain guidance and assistance from the City Clerk concerning the conduct of such elections, and shall act as the canvassing board for the purpose of interpreting procedures and deciding controversies or other matters arising in the conduct of the elections.
(2) All powers and authority delegated to the board pertaining to the conduct of regular or special elections may be exercised in the absence of the board by the secretary or by an assistant secretary appointed by the board. The person named by the board who is responsible for the conducting of the election shall be the City Clerk.
(B) Call for Nominations.
(1) Not less than 70 days nor more than 90 days before a regular special district election, the City Clerk shall provide notice of a call for nominations for the election and such notice shall be posted in at least three public places within the PID and shall be published in full, in English and Spanish, once a week for at least two consecutive weeks before the 70th day prior to the election in the Albuquerque Journal or another newspaper of general circulation within the PID. The call shall state the date of the election, the number of PID directors to be voted upon at the election, where a nomination and acceptance form may be obtained, the deadline for submitting the nomination and acceptance form to the City Clerk, information on obtaining a ballot if the election will be by mail-ballot only, the name and address of the City Clerk, and a brief summary of the information described in subsection (B)(2) of this section.
(2) The call for nominations shall include either (i) a summary of the basic annual and periodic responsibilities of the PID board, including items (a) through (e), or (ii) the method by which interested persons may obtain the summary. Annual and periodic board responsibilities include:
(a) Adoption of an open meetings resolution;
(b) Preliminary and final approval of an annual budget sufficient to pay debt service on outstanding district bonds and annual administrative costs;
(c) Exercise of remedies to collect delinquent PID special levies;
(d) Approval of audited financial statements; and
(e) Approval of continuing disclosure reports prepared on behalf of the PID.
(3) The City Clerk shall provide the information described in subsection (B)(2) of this section promptly to all persons accepting nominations for board positions.
(C) Nominations.
(1) Not less than 60 days before the date of the election, any resident qualified elector or owner who desires to be or designate a candidate for the office of a PID director shall file a nomination and acceptance form or letter signed by the resident qualified elector or owner and, as applicable, the designee for the office of PID Director.
(2) On the date of signing the nomination and acceptance form or letter, the candidate for director shall be a resident qualified elector, owner, or the designee of a resident qualified elector or owner.
(3) The nomination and acceptance form or letter shall state the name of the PID in which the election will be held, the date of the election, the full name of the candidate as it is to appear on the ballot, and a statement that the candidate is a resident qualified elector, owner, or the designee of a resident qualified elector or owner. Unless physically unable, all parties submitting and identified on a nomination and acceptance form or letter shall sign their own signature and shall print (a) their names, (b) their mailing addresses, (c) their telephone number, (d) the address of the property owned, resided, or represented, including the street number and name, and (e) the date of signature on the nomination and acceptance form or letter. All signatures or marks on the nomination and acceptance form or letter shall be acknowledged by a notary public.
(4) The nomination and acceptance form or letter shall be filed with the City Clerk of the PID in which the election will be held, and the City Clerk shall verify the sufficiency of the information contained therein and shall return any insufficient nomination form to the candidate with a written description of the insufficiency. A nomination and acceptance form that is insufficient may be amended at any time after filing but prior to 3 p.m. on the 30th day before the election.
(5) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the City Council, at its option, may nominate one or more candidates. The City Council or its designee shall provide a list of any candidate(s) nominated by the City Council to the City Clerk of the PID in which the election will be held not less than 60 days before the date of the election. The City Council shall have no duty to nominate any candidate unless the PID has not delivered payment for all costs of the improvements to be financed by the PID, as described in the implementing legislation. If the City Council is required to nominate candidates, the list of nominees shall consist of no less than three City employees.
(D) Time for Holding Elections; Manner of Election; Notice.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (D)(2) of this section, regular PID elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August in every other even-numbered year.
(2) Special elections may be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of the month in which held, but in no event on a date within 42 days before any statewide election, as provided by Section 1-12-71 NMSA 1978.
(3) At least 60 days prior to a PID Board election, the City Clerk shall request that the County Clerk provide to the City Clerk a list of the names and addresses of registered electors of the city who are also registered electors of the PID.
(4) At least 60 days prior to a PID Board election, the City Clerk shall request that the County Assessor provide to the City Clerk a list of the names and addresses of the owners of real property in the district on the current property tax assessment roll.
(5) The City Clerk shall prepare a voter list of registered electors residing within the PID and owners of property within the PID from the lists provided by the County Clerk and County Assessor.
(6) The City Clerk shall prepare and provide to the City Clerk a form of ballot containing the names of the eligible candidates.
(7) If the PID Election is conducted as regular municipal election, or where as otherwise required by law, the City Clerk shall follow the early voting and absentee voting procedures in Section 3-8-37.1 NMSA 1978. In the event of a mail ballot only election, the following procedures shall be followed:
(a) The City Clerk shall make available at the Office of the City Clerk beginning no later than 20 days before the date of the election a regular ballot to any person whose name appears on the voter list or who provides an affidavit of ownership signed by that person. The City Clerk shall record the names and mailing addresses of each person receiving a regular ballot.
(b) The City Clerk shall make available at the Office of the City Clerk a provisional ballot to any person not appearing on the voter list, but claiming eligibility to vote as either a qualified resident elector or owner of property within the PID. The City Clerk shall record the name and mailing address of any person to whom a provisional ballot is given, and shall keep copies of any evidence presented by such person in support of the claim of eligibility. If during the canvass the PID Board determines it has insufficient information to determine whether a person given a provisional ballot is a qualified elector, it shall provide written notification to such person that he or she may present additional evidence of eligibility to the PID Board, and shall describe the means by which such evidence may be presented and that the evidence must be presented before the end of the canvassing period of 30 days, as provided in Section 5-11-7(G) NMSA 1978.
(c) Ballots shall be available to prospective electors at the Office of the City Clerk, or, upon written request, shall be mailed to the requesting person, until the close of business on the Friday immediately preceding the date of the election.
(8) At least one polling place shall be provided for a PID board election that is not a mail ballot only election. The City Clerk shall select the most convenient and suitable public building or public school building within the PID that can be obtained. If no public building or public school building is available, the City Clerk shall provide some other suitable place, which shall be the most convenient and appropriate place obtainable within or near the PID, considering the purpose for which it is to be used.
(E) Voter Eligibility.
(1) No person shall be permitted to vote in any election unless that person is a resident qualified elector or property owner as defined in section 5-11-3 NMSA 1978.
(2) Each voter may cast the applicable number of votes authorized in the Act. As provided in Section 5-11-7 NMSA 1978, a property owner who is also a qualified resident elector shall not be entitled to an additional vote as a result of residing within the PID. The following procedures shall be implemented to prevent a single property owner and all persons related to a property owner (i.e. a related person within the meaning of Treasury Regulation 1.150-1(b), Internal Revenue Code Sections 144(a), 267, 707(b) or 1563(a)) (collectively a "single property owner") from maintaining continued effective control of the PID Board through the election of members that perpetuate such control; notwithstanding any other provision of the Act or this section, irrespective of the actual number of votes cast by a single property owner, and in accordance with the City's home rule powers granted in Article X, Section 6 of the New Mexico Constitution:
(a) With respect to an election of new directors to seats initially held by the two directors of a PID appointed to four-year terms by the City Council (the "Class 4 Directors"), a single property owner shall be permitted to cast votes sufficient in number to elect and fill no more than one of the Class 4 Directors. The remaining Class 4 Directors' seat on the PID Board shall be filled by a City Councilor whose district includes the PID boundaries.
(b) With respect to an election of new directors to seats initially held by the three directors of a PID appointed to six-year terms by the City Council (the "Class 6 Directors"), a single property owner shall be permitted to cast votes sufficient in number to elect and fill no more than two of the Class 6 Directors. The remaining Class 6 Directors' seat on the PID Board shall be filled by the City Council's President.
(c) In the event that an election of the Class 4 Directors and the Class 6 Directors occurs in a single election, Subsections 6-9-7(E)(2)(a) and (b) of this PID section shall apply and, subject to subsections 6-9-7(E)(2)(d) and (e) of this PID section, a single property owner shall only be permitted to elect one Class 4 Director and two Class 6 Directors.
(d) In the event that a Single Property Owner casts votes which would otherwise be sufficient in number to elect more than one Class 4 Director, the candidates receiving the smallest number of votes cast by the single property owner shall be eliminated. In the event that a single property owner casts an equal number of votes for two or more of the Class 4 Directors, the PID Board shall determine the candidate or candidates to be eliminated by any method deemed fair and impartial by the PID Board, e.g. selecting names from a hat, drawing playing cards, etc.
(e) In the event that a single property owner casts votes which would otherwise be sufficient in number to elect more than two Class 6 Directors, the candidates receiving the smallest number of votes cast by the single property owner shall be eliminated. In the event that a single property owner casts an equal number of votes for three or more of the Class 6 Directors, the PID Board shall determine the candidate or candidates to be eliminated by any method deemed fair and impartial by the PID Board, e.g. selecting names from a hat, drawing playing cards, etc.
(f) If a single property owner does not cast a majority of the votes in an election of new directors, the foregoing procedures described in Subsections 6-9-7(E)(2)(a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this PID section shall not apply and the members of the PID Board shall be elected by majority vote of the resident qualified electors and property owners in accordance with the Act and the remaining subsections of this PID section.
(3) Any person requesting a ballot by mail for any election as a resident qualified elector or property owner shall sign an affidavit that the person is an elector of the PID. The affidavit shall be on a form that contains in substance the following:
FORM OF AFFIDAVIT
does hereby declare and warrant that (s)he is either (1) the owner of record title of acres of real property located in the Public Improvement District known as lot(s)/tracts , located in Subdivision, within the Public Improvement District or (2) is a resident qualified elector (i.e. a person who resides within the boundaries of the Public Improvement District and who is qualified to vote in the general elections held in the state pursuant to Section 1-1-4 NMSA 1978). I, (printed name), reside at (address), am an elector of this (name of PID) and desire to vote at this election. I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am qualified to vote in this PID election as:
A resident of the district or area to be included in the district for not less than thirty days; or
The owner of taxable real property situated within the boundaries of the PID.
I have not voted previously at this election.
Date
Signature of elector
(F) Notice of Election. Pursuant to Section 5-11-7(A) NMSA 1978, a notice of election shall be posted in at least three public places within the PID not less than 20 days before the election and shall be published in full, in English and Spanish, once a week for at least two consecutive weeks before the election in the Albuquerque Journal or another newspaper of general circulation within the PID. The notice shall indicate the following:
(1) Ballots may be obtained at the Office of the City Clerk or, upon written request received not later than the close of business on the Friday immediately preceding the election, will be mailed to the requesting person.
(2) Each elector may cast the applicable number of votes authorized in the Act for up to five candidates listed on the ballot. A property owner shall receive a ballot for each one-fifth of an acre owned, as identified in the property owner's affidavit required by Section 5-11-7.D NMSA 1978. The PID shall calculate the actual number of acres or portions of acres owned by a property owner in accordance with Section 5-11-6.B NMSA 1978.
(3) Ballots must be returned to the Office of the City Clerk no later than 7:00 p.m. on the date of the election. Mail-in ballots must be received in the Office of the City Clerk by 7:00 p.m. on the date of the election.
(4) If voting will be in-person, the hours during the day, not less than six, in which the polls will be open.
(G) Form of Ballot; Voting and Canvassing Results.
(1) The City Clerk will make ballots available to prospective voters at the Office of the City Clerk. In addition, upon request, the City Clerk shall mail a ballot to requesting persons upon the presentation of a title report or other evidence establishing ownership of property within the PID, or the presentation of evidence establishing that the person is eligible to vote under the PID Act (i.e. the voter is a resident qualified elector who resides within the boundaries of the PID and is qualified to vote in general elections held in the state pursuant to Section 1-1-4 NMSA 1978). All property owners voting in the election must execute an affidavit stating that they are the owner of land in the PID and stating the area of land in acres owned within the PID. Completed ballots, whether delivered by hand or U.S. Mail, must be received by 7:00 p.m. on the date of the election at the Office of the City Clerk. The form of ballot shall contain in substance the following:
FORM OF BALLOT
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
DISTRICT BOARD ELECTION
Each owner of real property located in the Public Improvement District (the "PID"), located in the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico and each resident qualified elector, if any, residing in the PID ("Voters") may vote for up to five (5) candidates. To select a candidate, follow arrow to the right of the candidate's name and fill in the oval that corresponds with the candidate for whom you are voting. The candidates receiving the most affirmative (YES) votes will be elected as the new PID board members of the PID. The polling place for the election will be , and the polls will be open on , , 20 , between the hours of a.m. and p.m. There will be no polling place for the election, which will be conducted by mail ballots only. Completed ballots must be received by 7:00 p.m. on , , 20 , at the Office of the City Clerk, 600 2nd NW, 7th floor, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87102.
(Voters may vote YES for up to five (5) candidates. Any ballot in which a Voter votes for more than five (5) candidates will be held invalid and such ballot will not be counted. Should a Voter inadvertently vote for more than five (5) candidates, the Voter may request a replacement ballot prior to or on the day of the Election, which replacement ballot must be completed and submitted before 7:00 p.m. on the day of the Election.)
1. [CANDIDATE NAME]
2. [CANDIDATE NAME]
3. [CANDIDATE NAME]
4. [CANDIDATE NAME]
5. [CANDIDATE NAME]
6. [CANDIDATE NAME]
7. [CANDIDATE NAME]
8. [CANDIDATE NAME]
Etc.
(2) The place for the receipt of completed ballots for the election shall be the Office of the City Clerk, 600 2nd NW, 7th floor, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87102.
(3) Completed ballots, whether delivered by hand or U.S. Mail, must be received by 7:00 p.m. on , , 20 at the Office of the City Clerk.
(4) The candidates receiving the most votes, as evidenced by the certificate of canvassing prepared by the City Clerk, will be elected as the new members of the PID board.
(5) The ballots are expected to be counted and the results tallied in the Office of the City Clerk, 600 2nd NW, 7th floor, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87102 by the close of business on , 20 . In any event, canvassing shall be completed within 30 days of the election and the City Clerk shall prepare a certificate of canvassing for recording in the PID board's minute book by the PID Clerk, which certificate will indicate the total number of votes cast, the total number of votes cast for each candidate, and will specify which five candidates received the most votes. The certificate of canvassing shall be signed by a presiding judge of the election.
(6) Candidate names shall be placed on the ballot in the order in which valid nominations were received.
(H) Transfer of Property Title to Qualify Electors. No person shall take or place any interest in title to taxable property in the name of another, whether a fractional undivided interest or otherwise, or enter into a contract to purchase or sell taxable property, for the purpose of attempting to influence the outcome of any PID election. Any ballot cast in violation of this subsection as determined in an election contest conducted pursuant to Section 1-14-1 et seq. NMSA 1978, shall be void.
(I) Board Member Terms. Subsequent PID board members shall have six-year terms.
(J) Quorum. A majority of the number of director positions filled at the time of a PID board meeting shall constitute a quorum for the carrying out of PID board duties.
(K) Definitions. The terms defined in Section 5-11-2 NMSA 1978 shall have the same meaning when used herein unless otherwise indicated.
(L) Further Authorization. The City Clerk, the Chairperson of the PID board and the PID Clerk of a PID are authorized and directed to take all action necessary or appropriate to effectuate the provisions of this § 6-9-7. The PID Clerk shall consult with and seek the assistance of the City Clerk as he or she deems necessary or convenient, but is authorized and directed to take any and all steps necessary for the proper conduct of the election, including giving timely notice of the election by proclamation by publication and posting thereof and compliance with the Federal Voting Rights Act and any other matters of federal or state election law.