660,000+ New Mexicans Participate in Early Voting Surge

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More than 660,000 New Mexicans cast their ballots during the state’s early voting period, which ran from October 8 through Saturday, according to the Secretary of State’s office on Monday. Voters participated in both local and national races, with about 530,000 ballots—or 80%—cast in person, while the remaining 120,000 were mailed in, based on state data. Early voting accounted for roughly 48% of New Mexico’s registered voters.

While this year’s early voter turnout didn’t surpass the record of nearly 800,000 voters in the 2020 election, the percentage of mail-in ballots has significantly dropped. In 2020, 35% of votes were mailed in, compared to less than 25% in this election.

Seven counties, including Bernalillo, which recorded over 243,000 early votes, saw more than half of their registered voters casting ballots either absentee or early. Other counties with high early voter turnout included Grant, Lincoln, Los Alamos, Sandoval, Santa Fe, and Valencia.

Republican candidates have questioned the validity of mail-in and early ballots in other states, though without evidence. It’s unclear whether this has impacted Republican turnout in New Mexico, but approximately 75,000 fewer Republicans voted early in 2024 compared to 2020.

Democratic voters represented 46% of early turnout, with Republicans making up 36%. Statewide, Democrats account for 42% of the electorate, while Republicans represent about one-third of registered voters. A quarter of New Mexicans are unaffiliated with any party, and Libertarians make up just over 1%, with other parties collectively below 1%.

Tuesday is the final day to vote for offices including president, U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Legislature.

By the numbers:

  • In-person early voters: 556,026, roughly 100,000 more than in 2020 and 2016.
  • Absentee ballots requested: 126,604, with more than 85% already returned by the end of early voting.
  • Same-day registrations: 26,640, with 41% of these voters registering Republican and 34% registering Democrat.

New Mexico has expanded early voting and same-day registration in recent years, and also restored voting rights to people with felony convictions.

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