Early voting participation trended upward among Doña Ana County voters

Jason Groves, Las Cruces Sun-News
·2 min read

The number of voters who voted early in Doña Ana County trended up compared to previous elections, according to data from New Mexico's Secretary of State.

Early voting ended on Saturday ahead of Tuesday's municipal elections.

The New Mexico Secretary of State’s office reported Monday that 7,807 Doña Ana County residents participated in in-person early voting and that 2,931 residents submitted an absentee ballot.

There were 3,586 Doña Ana County residents who requested an absentee ballot. Completed absentee ballots must be received by the Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office by 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

There have been 172 Doña Ana County residents who utilized same-day registration to vote so far.

In 2021, the number of voters who cast a ballot during in-person early voting was 5,271, and there were 739 absentee voters that year. In 2019, 7,100 voters cast ballots in-person during the early voting period.

Future election officials are trained by the County Clerk’s office on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, at the Doña Ana County Government Building.
Future election officials are trained by the County Clerk’s office on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, at the Doña Ana County Government Building.

"Compared to 2019 and 2021, the numbers do seem robust," Doña Ana County Clerk Dr. Amanda López Askin said in an email to the Sun-News. "I will say that the mayoral race in (Las Cruces) does tend to bring out more voters. We are hoping with the legislation passed in 2019 that consolidated elections into the fall that voters will institutionalize voting every November like clockwork."

Doña Ana County Clerk announces changes to election night procedures

Due to legislation that was passed in January and took effect in June, the absent voter election board will recess at 11 p.m. on election night if not all votes have been counted, and continue to count votes if needed from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on each subsequent day.

In previous years, the Election Board would not adjourn until all votes were counted.

“With new legislation comes changes that we want voters to be aware of,” Doña Ana County Clerk Dr. Amanda López Askin said in a press release.

“Please know that when you are waiting for election results, there are hundreds of community members that are working hard to get those results to you as quickly as possible while always prioritizing adhering to the law and processes that protect the integrity of our elections.”

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: A look at early voting turnout in Doña Ana County