Early voting starts tomorrow at select NM polling locations

Early voting signs and booths at a vote center in Doña Ana County. (Photo by Danielle Prokop / Source NM)

Tuesday is a big day in election season, as Oct. 8 marks the start of early voting across New Mexico and is the first day for county clerks to send out absentee ballots previously requested by voters.

Early voting locations are limited at the beginning of the early voting season, with many of them located in county seats. To find a polling place on the New Mexico Secretary of State’s website, or call a local county clerk’s office.

Oct. 8 also closes voter registration online or by mail, but people can still register in-person at the polls using same-day registration.

To register at the polls, people are required to bring photo identification, such as a New Mexico driver’s license. If the photo ID doesn’t match the registration address, state law says the voter will need additional proof of residency. This can include a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck that shows name and address. Photo IDs can include identification from an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo, or a student ID from an accredited institution, along with a current student fee statement.

Same-day registration can only be used for people voting in-person at the polling location, it cannot be used to request an absentee ballot.

Later this month, county clerks will expand the number of voting locations, opening more on Oct. 19 until early voting ends on Saturday, Nov. 2.

All mail-in ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Absentee ballots can be posted, placed in drop boxes or handed in during office hours to the county clerk’s office. If a voter is unable to mail an absentee ballot, state law says that only the voter, the voter’s caregiver or the voter’s “immediate family” may deliver it for them.

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Election Day polling locations will open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.