{"data":{"id":"us-nm/1-20-24","jurisdiction":"us-nm","citation":"1-20-24","heading":"Unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling place.","body":"A. Unlawful possession of a firearm at a polling place consists of possession of a loaded or unloaded firearm by any person within:\n(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;\n(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\n(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.\nB. The provisions of Subsection A of this section do not apply to:\n(1) a certified law enforcement officer in performance of the officer's official duties;\n(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;\n(3) a commissioned law enforcement officer with the power to arrest in performance of the officer's official duties;\n(4) a commissioned law enforcement officer with the power to arrest acting in accordance with the policies of the officer's law enforcement agency;\n(5) a person in a private automobile or other private means of conveyance; or\n(6) 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].\nC. 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.\nD. 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.\nE. 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.","path":["Chapter 1 - Elections","ARTICLE 20 Offenses and Penalties"],"source_url":"https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa-unanno/en/item/18502/index.do","current_through":"2026-05-20","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-03T15:02:19Z","sha256":"ab71661b9278f4eacbba7d511b37bd815ed448eef1f13638cb1ee1fc59466035","source_id":"us-nm","stale":false,"prev":"us-nm/1-20-23","next":"us-nm/1-20-25"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}