New Mexico

The deadline to cure (correct) your absentee/mail ballot is November 22, 2024. Your county clerk will attempt to contact you immediately if your absentee/mail ballot is rejected. You can track the status of your mail ballot using your state’s online tool to make sure it has been received and accepted. If you voted a provisional ballot, you can check the status of your provisional ballot after the election using your state’s online tool.  

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures is available here.

There are multiple ways for voters to return their absentee ballot. You can drop off your ballot at your county clerk’s office, a secured mail ballot drop box, or at any polling location in your county during Early Voting or on Election Day. 

Note: a new law requires each county to have at least two mail ballot drop boxes, otherwise known as  “monitored secure containers.” Indigenous nations, tribes, and pueblos may make written requests for voting locations and monitored secured containers (ballot drop boxes) from county clerks.

Please contact your county clerk's office for information on the nearest drop box.

You may vote early at your County Clerks office, beginning 28 days before an election. Early voting at alternate sites begins on the third Saturday before the election in many counties. Early voting information may be found on this state website.

Indigenous nations, tribes, and pueblos may make written requests for early voting locations from county clerks.

The next election date can be found here https://www.vote411.org/new-mexico.

Contact your local Board of Elections for information about local elections.

To be eligible to vote, you must be:

• A resident of New Mexico
• A citizen of the United States
• At least 18 years old. 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the General Election may participate in the primary election. Voters must be at least 18 years old to participate in all other elections.

Incarcerated Voters & Returning Citizens: 

In New Mexico, you only lose your right to vote if you are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction. If you lost your voting rights because of a conviction, you could register to vote immediately after release. Your voting rights are not restricted by pretrial detention, misdemeanors, probation, or parole. 

Voters without traditional residence: 

In New Mexico, it is not mandatory for citizens to possess a "permanent home" for voter registration. A citizen can provide an alternative description of their residence, even if they are experiencing homelessness, as long as it enables the authorities to identify and assign a voting precinct to them. This precinct assignment ensures that the voter receives the appropriate ballot. The mailing address on their registration form can be a PO box, local shelter, advocacy organization, outreach center, or the home of someone who will accept mail for them. 

If the voter registration application is submitted by mail and it is the first time you have registered in your county or in the state, you must submit a copy of an acceptable form of ID.

Acceptable forms of ID are:

• a current valid photo ID
• a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck
• a student ID card
• an ID issued by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo that shows your name and current address
• or other government document that shows your name and address.

Submitting this identification information will allow you to avoid showing personal identification at your polling place on Election Day.

If you wish to register to vote online you will need a current or expired New Mexico State ID or driver's license.

No ID is needed for voting UNLESS you registered to vote for the first time by mail and did not provide a copy of a current and valid photo ID along with a current utility bill or bank statement, you will need to show some form of ID at the polls.

Acceptable forms of ID are:

• An original or copy of a current  and valid photo ID with or without an address (the address doesn't need to match the address on your registration)
• Original or copy of a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student ID card or other government document, including ID issued by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo that shows your name and address (the address doesn't need to match the address on your registration)
• Verbal or written statement by you (the voter) with your name, year of birth and registered address

If you cannot provide any of the above forms of ID you may vote a provisional ballot.

NOTE: Some municipal jurisdictions do have voter ID rules in place that require ID to be provided in order to vote in city elections. This includes the city of Albuquerque and the city of Rio Rancho. Please contact your county clerk for more information.

Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

Official results are never available on Election Day. Election officials are working around the clock to count an unprecedented number of ballots, and it’s essential that they take the time to make sure every vote is counted. 

Absentee ballots begin being counted on Election Day. Provisional ballots are counted 2 days after Election Day.

For Presidential elections, local results will be certified no later than 10 days after Election Day.

Official election results will be uploaded on New Mexico’s Secretary of State website, on the third Tuesday after Election Day.

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation.

If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

You can make sure we have safe, fair, and efficient elections for all. Become a poll worker today!

In order to be a poll worker in New Mexico you must:

• Be registered to vote in New Mexico
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be a resident of the precinct
• Complete required training
• Messengers and translators may also be appointed

You will be entitled to compensation and political affiliation may be considered.

To sign up, contact your local board of elections.

Polls will be open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

You can find your polling place by utilizing your state resource. If you have any questions, please contact your county clerk.

New Mexico is a “closed primary” state. In order to vote in the primary election, voters must be registered with a political party. Unaffiliated or independent voters are not able to participate in the primary.

If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.

You will be issued a provisional ballot if your name does not appear on the roster or you do not provide the required identification.

You can check the status of your provisional ballot here.

You have until 5pm two days after the Election to provide proper identification for their provisional ballot to be counted.

You may request assistance in voting at the polls if you are blind, physically disabled, unable to read or write or a member of a language minority. Any person of your choice may assist you, except your employer, an agent of the employer, an officer or agent of your union, or a candidate whose name is on the ballot.

If you are blind or visually impaired you may request an absentee ballot be sent electronically so you may use your own non-visual or low vision technology to mark your ballot. Fill out an absentee ballot application and be sure to provide your email address for delivery of the electronic ballot.

For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource. Or, you can contact your Bureau of Elections at sos.elections@state.nm.us.

Ranked choice voting may be available in your area, contact your local elections officials for more information. Voters in Santa Fe and Las Cruces began using Ranked Choice Voting in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to rank candidates in their order of preference. Voters do not need to rank candidates if they do not want to and may vote for just one candidate. For more information on how Ranked Choice Voting works in your area, please contact your local elections officials.

You may register to vote online! You will need your social security number and driver's license or state ID number to complete the form.

Mailed and online registration closes 28 days before an election.

Same-Day Voter Registration: 

SDR is available at your County Clerk’s office or at any polling location in your county on Election Day. Additional Early Voting locations may also provide SDR – it’s best to check with your local county clerk. 

You’ll need to bring the following: 

1. An ID issued by the federal government, a state government, a federally recognized Indigenous nation, tribe, or pueblo, or an educational institution containing your name and photo, AND includes your registration address.

OR

2. An acceptable ID with your name and photo paired with another document showing your name and registration address, such as a utility bill.

Automatic Voter Registration (Effective July 1, 2025)

If you provide a document proving your US citizenship during a DMV transaction, the DMV will check the voter registration database to see if you are registered. If not, you will be registered, offered an opportunity to affiliate with a political party, and told that the county clerk will mail you information about declining registration.

Employers must grant employees up to two hours paid leave to vote, unless polls are open two hours before or three hours after regular working shift. The employer may designate the hours to be taken, but it may not include lunch or rest hours.

To verify your voter registration status

The voting machine systems used in New Mexico are optical scan.

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.