A secure ballot drop box for absentee ballots sits in front of the Bernalillo County headquarters in downtown Albuquerque. (Photo by Nash Jones / KUNM)
New Mexico elections officials are asking voters to drop off their absentee ballots at elections offices or in secure drop boxes, rather than posting them to ensure they are received in time to count.
Voters who haven’t already mailed their ballots should not rely on the U.S. Postal Service this close to the election, said Santa Fe County Clerk Katherine Clark said in a media release.
“At this point, mailing your ballot may delay it,” Clark said, urging voters to drop off the ballots at voting centers, open poll sites or in secure drop boxes.
The consensus from New Mexico elections officials is that ballots mailed before this past Tuesday, Oct. 22, will arrive on time.
New Mexico state law requires the clerk’s office to physically receive all mail-in ballots by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5, in order to be counted.
Ballots arriving via mail to the clerk’s office after Election Day cannot be counted.
Mitchell Cox, the voter outreach coordinator for Santa Fe County, said that his office has seen a variety of postmark times on mail-in ballots. Some ballots are arriving after a few days, but often taking longer.
“Generally, it takes a week, each way, for ballots to travel by mail, even within the state,” Cox said.
For years, elections officials throughout the U.S. have been combating election disinformation spread by former President Donald Trump and Republican officials about how absentee ballots are counted, while also balancing concerns about post office delays which has disenfranchised voters across the country.
In a September letter, elections officials nationwide reported receiving “dozens to hundreds of ballots 10 or more days after postmark”
Voting locations are open in New Mexico Monday through Saturday until Nov. 2, and can be found on the New Mexico Secretary of State’s voter portal, or by contacting the local county clerk’s office.
There are no voting centers open on the Sunday or Monday before Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, when polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
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