NM vote turnout neared record high, with some voters braving long lines

Joe Felix's first time voting in New Mexico was an endurance test.

Felix was the last voter in line at a polling site on the University of New Mexico campus on Tuesday night, after waiting nearly five hours to cast his ballot.

While polls statewide closed at 7 p.m., voters in line at that time are still allowed to vote, and Felix did not reach the front of the line until nearly 11 p.m.

"You pretty much get to only exercise this vote only once every four years," Felix told the Journal. "And so I just think it's your right as a citizen to go ahead and do so and to exercise that vote, even if it takes a matter of 30 minutes or three hours or, in this case, a total of five."

Felix was one of about 120 people who waited to cast their vote at the UNM polling place, with an estimated 95% of those people registering to vote before casting their ballot, polling site election judge Paul Roybal said.

Long lines to vote were also reported in Doña Ana County and other parts of Albuquerque. Felix was the last person to vote in Bernalillo County, according to county clerk's office communications specialist Kristal Peña.

Statewide, voter turnout in New Mexico for this year's general election ended up hitting about 925,000 votes cast — or 67.2% of registered voters, according to unofficial results.

That turnout percentage was higher than the 2012 and 2016 general elections but was down slightly from 2020, when about 928,000 votes were cast — or roughly 68.7% of registered voters.

Alex Curtas, a spokesman for Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver's office, acknowledged technical issues with processing same-day voter registration applications led to Election Day delays in some parts of the state.

But Toulouse Oliver, who oversaw her second presidential election as New Mexico's top election official, described Tuesday as a "successful election" overall.

"No matter if your candidate won or lost tonight, I hope we will all be thankful that the strength of our democracy held fast and the voices of our voters were heard," Toulouse Oliver said in an election night statement.

Statewide turnout

While Democrats hold a significant voter registration advantage over Republicans in New Mexico, Republicans voted at a higher rate in this year's election.

Nearly 75.3% of registered Republicans statewide cast before polls closed Tuesday, compared with about 71.1% of Democrats.

Independents, or those who decline to state a party affiliation, lagged far behind in turnout rate, with just over half of registered independents casting a vote.

More Republicans than Democrats also utilized the same-day voter registration option in New Mexico, which allows eligible voters to register and then cast a ballot in person up through Election Day — well after the deadline to register to vote online or by mail.

A total of 21,850 Republicans used same-day voter registration in this year's general election cycle, compared with 17,325 Democrats, according to Secretary of State's office data. There also were 12,567 independents who voted using same-day registration.

Election Day voter registration was approved by the Democratic-controlled Legislature in 2019 over GOP opposition but was first offered to voters in 2021 in order to give county clerks ample time to prepare.

Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, pushed for the change, arguing technological advances — including a statewide voter database that can be updated in seconds — made a registration deadline of 28 days before an election unnecessary.

She also said same-day voting registration might increase voter participation in the state, adding the state's old law sometimes led to voters showing up to vote but being unable to cast ballots due to registration glitches.