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SANTA FE — Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron has requested an additional $3 million to help pay for last month's elections.

That includes $1.3 million to print ballots, $560,000 for advertising, $88,000 to print the constitutional amendments and bond questions and $225,000 for supplies.

Vigil-Giron said most of the money would help pay for the state's switch over to paper ballots.

Under a law enacted this year, all 33 counties in New Mexico switched from a patchwork of voting methods to a single paper ballot system.

"Since the Legislature passed it, and the governor signed it, it's our responsibility to pay for it," said Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela, a Santa Fe Democrat and chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee.

Vigil-Giron said New Mexico has spent $9 million in federal money given to the state to meet requirements in a 2002 federal elections reform law.

She said the $3 million her office is seeking also would help pay for a "surprise" bill for more than $700,000 from the Nebraska company ES&S, which sold New Mexico its new voting machines.

ES&S representative Amanda Brown said the company's invoices are within "our budget agreement with the state."