2020 Absentee Voting

Record absentee voting, near record early in-person voting push NM toward all-time high in turnout

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New Mexico appears poised to break the state’s all-time turnout record on Election Day, with the continued record-breaking absentee turnout and early in-person voting which finished just hundreds of votes behind the previous record. Overall turnout reached 770,596 as of Monday morning. Overall turnout in 2020 was, as of Monday morning, at 95.84 percent of the total turnout in 2016—which included not only all early in-person voting and absentee ballots, but also Election Day voting. The turnout this year was at 92.47 percent of 2008’s total; that year still is the record number of voters in the state. In all, 456,224 voters cast their ballots through early in-person votes, which ended on Saturday.

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Turnout continues on record pace, as nearly 740,000 New Mexicans voted as of Saturday morning

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On the final morning of early voting, turnout remained high throughout New Mexico, with 739,359 ballots already cast. This was already by far the most ballots cast before election day, between early in-person and absentee ballots, and promises to only increase on what has traditionally been one of the heaviest days of early in-person voting. As of Saturday morning, early in-person voting was already the second-highest in state history, with 429,625 voters choosing to cast their ballots in person ahead of Election Day. Only 2016, when 456,762 voters cast their ballots early in-person, had more. It is very possible, if not likely, that New Mexico will have the highest early in-person turnout in election history this year.

2020 Absentee Voting

Voter turnout nears 700,000 as end of early voting nears

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As the end of early voting in New Mexico neared, and just days before Election Day, 698,455 New Mexicans had cast their ballots as of Friday morning, including nearly 400,000 who have done so through early in-person ballots. The turnout was 86.86 percent of the total turnout (including absentee, early in-person and Election Day voting) of 2016, and 83.81 percent of the turnout of 2008. The 2008 election had the highest turnout of any election in New Mexico history. Even with record-breaking absentee ballot numbers, early in-person voting will once again be the most popular form of voting, as has been the case in every election since 2008. As of Friday morning, 396,055 voters had cast their ballots through early in-person voting, while 302,400 voters returned absentee ballots out of 384,809 who requested them.

2020 Absentee Voting

State district court judge dismisses NM GOP suit against Secretary of State, two county clerks

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A Santa Fe state district court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Republican Party of New Mexico against the New Mexico Secretary of State and two county clerks on Thursday. 

The suit alleged that both the Taos and Guadalupe County clerks’ offices were not adequately monitoring absentee ballot drop boxes and requested that a judge issue a temporary restraining order, followed by a permanent injunction to “either immediately discontinue the use of drop boxes or ensure that they are made inaccessible to the public during non-polling hours and kept continuously, directly monitored by at least two bipartisan election officials during polling hours.”

Quick Reads

Turnout in NM passes 660,000, 82 percent of 2016’s total turnout

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County clerks reported nearly 39,000 more votes on Thursday morning than in the Wednesday morning report, bringing the state’s turnout with five days until Election Day to 660,763. The numbers, provided by the Secretary of State’s office, showed that early in-person voting fell slightly behind the pace of early voting in 2016, which had the most early in-person votes of any election in state history. But absentee voting continued its steady increase, extending the record number of absentee ballots received by county clerks. As of Thursday morning, 292,066 voters had returned absentee ballots out of 384,162 ballot requests, a 76.03 percent return rate. 

A total of 368,697 voters had cast their votes through early in-person voting as of Thursday morning. The turnout reached 82.18 percent of 2016’s total turnout, which included all early in-person votes, absentee ballots and Election Day voting, and 79.29 percent of the 2008 turnout.

2020 Absentee Voting

Turnout in NM passes 620,000

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As of Wednesday morning, 621,788 New Mexicans had cast ballots for the general election, continuing the trend of heavy early and absentee voting. With six days until Election Day, statewide turnout is now at 77.33 percent of all votes cast in the 2016 election (including Election Day voting), and 74.61 percent of all votes cast in 2008, which is the state’s highest turnout election. The numbers were released by the Secretary of State’s office on Thursday morning. The turnout is now more than the total turnout in the 2000 election in New Mexico and more than any midterm election except 2018. Three counties did not report any new additional ballots since Tuesday’s update (Cibola, Sandoval and Socorro counties), so the turnout is likely even higher.

2020 Absentee Voting

Voting slows as storm hits, but still on record-breaking pace

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While voting slowed on Monday as a large winter storm blanketed much of the state, New Mexico remains on a record pace for turnout, and has reached nearly three-quarters of the total 2016 turnout with seven days until election day. As of Tuesday morning, 592,906 voters had cast ballots, just under 30,000 more than the previous day’s total, the lowest one-day increase since Oct. 14. The Secretary of State released the numbers Tuesday morning. It included the lowest day of early in-person votes since the start of expanded early voting (17,163) and the lowest total of returned absentee ballots since Oct.

2020 Absentee Voting

Over 560,000 New Mexicans have already voted

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New Mexico’s blistering voter turnout pace continued over the weekend, and the Secretary of State’s office reported 562,909 votes have already cast ballots in this year’s general election, with over a week to go until Election Day. The turnout represents 70 percent of the total turnout in New Mexico in 2016 (which included final absentee, early in-person and Election Day voting). 

New Mexico already shattered its previous record for returned absentee ballots last week, and as of Monday morning, 252,905 voters have returned absentee ballots. The Secretary of State’s office was not able to provide data on how many total absentee ballot requests were received by county clerks. It’s likely that the over 250,000 returned ballots represent about two-thirds of the total requests. Early in-person voting also continued to exceed that of 2016.

News

Over 485,000 New Mexicans have already voted

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Voter turnout in New Mexico is quickly approaching half a million, as 486,626 voters have already cast their ballots as of Friday morning, according to numbers provided by the Secretary of State’s office. This included 259,193 voters who have cast ballots via early in-person voting and 227,433 who returned absentee ballots. While it’s unclear whether this is just regular voters shifting their voting forward, it appears New Mexico is headed toward record turnout this year. The updated number of requested absentee ballots was not immediately available, but it appears the percent of returned absentee ballots is nearing 60 percent. Voters must return absentee ballots by 7 p.m. on Nov.

2020 Absentee Voting

Voter turnout at 440,000 as voting shows no sign of slowing

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The turnout in New Mexico continues to surge, reaching 440,001 voters as of Thursday morning, 12 days before election day. 

New Mexico has not only shattered the absentee voting record set in 2008, according to the numbers provided by the Secretary of State’s office, but continues to exceed the early in-person vote total set in 2016—which was the year with the most early in-person votes in the state. As of Thursday morning, 228,653 voters had cast early in-person ballots, while 211,348 voters had returned absentee ballots. There are still plenty of absentee ballots waiting to be sent back or returned—the 211,348 ballots represent 55.41 percent of the 381,430 ballots requested by voters. Tuesday was the final day for voters to request absentee ballots, and the Secretary of State advises absentee voters to either mail them back by Oct. 27, to assure they arrive on time, or return their absentee ballots at a polling location.