Voting in New Mexico

Elections in New Mexico, 2020

• Election date: Nov. 3
• Registration deadline(s): Oct. 31 (in person); Oct. 6 (online; by mail)
• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Recount laws

• Early voting starts: Oct. 17
• Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (received)
• Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
• Voter ID: No ID
• Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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Election Information
2026 election and voting dates
Voter registration
Early voting
Absentee/mail-in voting
All-mail voting
Voter ID laws
State poll opening and closing times
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Voting policies are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which American citizens cast their ballots in their individual states.

THE BASICS

New Mexico allows early voting and no-excuse absentee voting.

Online voter registration is also available to New Mexico voters.

Voters in New Mexico are generally not required to present identification at the polls.

See state election laws

This page includes the following:

• Voter registration details, including methods of registering and requirements
• Details on voting in elections, including identification requirements, poll times, and primary election type
• Absentee voting rules
• Early voting rules
• Convicted felons' voting rights
• Election administration costs report
• Election agencies list
• Election policy ballot measures list
• Election policy legislation list

See Election governance in New Mexico for more detailed information about election and voting policy in the state, including voter list maintenance policies, provisional ballot rules, and post-election auditing practices.

Voter registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in New Mexico, each applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of New Mexico, and at least 18 years old by the time of the next election. People convicted of a felony are eligible to vote after their prison time is completed, even if they are still on probation, parole, or another form of supervised release. Individuals who have been declared mentally incapacitated may not register to vote.

Potential New Mexico voters who were not registered automatically may use the New Mexico voter registration form, the national voter registration form, or the state's online voter registration portal to register. Completed registration materials may be mailed or delivered by hand to election officials. To register online, an applicant must have a state-issued ID. First-time applicants registering by mail must attach a valid form of identification to their registration materials, which includes a current and valid photo identification, or, a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student identification card or other government document, including tribal IDs that show the voter's name and current address.

Automatic registration

See also: Automatic voter registration

New Mexico has automatic voter registration. Eligible voters are automatically registered to vote when they interact with a department of motor vehicles unless they opt out.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

New Mexico has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

See also: Same-day voter registration

New Mexico allows same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

In New Mexico, individuals can register to vote as soon as they become residents of the state.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

New Mexico does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voting in elections

President Barack Obama and others casting their ballots in 2012

Voter identification

See also: Voter identification laws by state

New Mexico does not require voters to present identification while voting, in most cases.

The federal Help America Vote Act requires that individuals in all 50 states who register to vote by mail and who have not voted previously in a federal election in their state must provide either their driver's license or a paycheck, bank statement, current utility bill, or government document showing their name and address. Individuals voting by mail must include a copy of one of those documents with their absentee/mail-in ballot.

These requirements do not apply if an individual submitted a copy of their identification, their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number when registering to vote. Voters in New Mexico can present the following forms of identification:

• Current and valid photo identification
• Current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student identification card, or other government document, including identification issued by an Indian nation, tribe, or pueblo that shows the voter’s name and current address

Some municipalities require identification when voting in local elections. Click here for more information.

Poll times

See also: State poll opening and closing times

In New Mexico, all polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time on Election Day. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Primary election type

See also: Primary elections in New Mexico

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. New Mexico utilizes a semi-closed primary process; participation in each party's primary is limited to registered party members and unaffiliated voters.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Absentee voting

See also: Absentee voting

All voters are eligible to vote absentee in New Mexico. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.

The county clerk must receive the absentee ballot application no later than the 14th day before the election. A voter may request an absentee ballot by filling out and returning an application form, or by completing an online application. Completed ballots must be returned to the county clerk or voter's precinct before 7 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted.

Early voting

See also: Early voting

New Mexico permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

Convicted felons' voting rights

See also: Voting rights for convicted felons

People convicted of a felony are eligible to vote after their prison time is completed, even if they are still on probation, parole, or another form of supervised release.

Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.

Election administration costs

National Conference of State Legislatures report, 2018

On February 14, 2018, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released a report on the costs of election administration in the states: "The Price of Democracy: Splitting the Bill for Elections." The report's authors noted that "no one knows how much [states] spend on elections ... [because] good research on election costs is slim." Generally, local units of government (most often counties, but sometimes cities and towns) are primarily responsible for election administration costs, though states and the federal government may also contribute. The report identified the states listed in the table below as assuming financial responsibility for at least some aspects of election administration.

To access the complete NCSL report, click here.

Election administration costs assumed by state
State pays all expenses for federal or state elections	State bears a portion of election costs	State pays for statewide special elections or statewide elections that don’t coincide with regularly scheduled elections	State pays for primary elections (statewide, presidential, or both)
Alaska Delaware	Alabama Colorado Hawaii Kentucky Louisiana Rhode Island	Arkansas Florida Iowa Michigan Missouri New Jersey North Dakota Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Tennessee Washington West Virginia	Arizona Arkansas Idaho Kansas Michigan Minnesota Missouri South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington
Note: If a state is not listed above, it was not included in the report. Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, "The Price of Democracy: Splitting the Bill for Elections," February 14, 2018

Election agencies

Seal of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission

See also: State election agencies

Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in New Mexico can contact the following state and federal agencies.

New Mexico Secretary of State: Elections Division

325 Don Gaspar, Suite 300

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501-4401

Phone: 505-827-3600

Email: elections@state.nm.us

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

1335 East West Highway, Suite 4300

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

Telephone: 866-747-1471

Election policy ballot measures

See also: Elections and campaigns on the ballot and List of New Mexico ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measures relating to election and campaign policy in New Mexico.

1. New Mexico Amendment 4 (1996)
2. New Mexico Amendment 3 (1996)
3. New Mexico Amendment 2 (1996)
4. New Mexico Rules for County Officials in their Second Terms, Amendment 3 (1998)
5. New Mexico Modern Election Language Amendment, Amendment 3 (2010)
6. New Mexico School Elections Act, Amendment 4 (2008)
7. New Mexico Runoff Elections, Measure 3 (2004)
8. New Mexico School Board, Amendment 1 (2008)
9. New Mexico Dates for School Elections, Amendment 1 (2014)
10. New Mexico Candidacy Declarations in Judicial Retention Elections, Amendment 3 (2014)
11. New Mexico Proposed Amendment 11, Voter Qualification (1994)
12. New Mexico Proposed Amendment 1, Absentee Voting (1940)
13. New Mexico Proposed Amendment, Absentee Voting (1958)
14. New Mexico Proposed Amendment, Joint Election of Governor and Lieutenant Governor (1962)
15. New Mexico Proposed Amendment, Absentee Voting, Removal of Voting Restrictions for Women and Indians (1964)
16. New Mexico Proposed Amendment, Municipal Bonds, Special Elections, Nonresident Voting (1964)
17. New Mexico Nominating Conventions for Candidates Referendum (1950)
18. New Mexico Nominating Conventions for Candidates Referendum (1964)

Election policy legislation

The following is a list of recent election bills that have been introduced in or passed by the New Mexico state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms New Mexico voting. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Voting in New Mexico - Google News

See also

• Ballot access requirements for political candidates in New Mexico
• Redistricting in New Mexico

Elections in New Mexico

• New Mexico elections, 2018
• New Mexico elections, 2017
• New Mexico elections, 2016
• New Mexico elections, 2015
• New Mexico elections, 2014

External links

• New Mexico Secretary of State