2022 Midterm Elections: Where to vote in New Mexico? When do your designated polls open and close?
No Senate seats will be voted upon in New Mexico but the governorship as well as House representatives will be decided on Tuesday.
New Mexico frequently changes its affiliation between Democrats and Republicans, emphasised by the Al Gore victory in the state by a margin of 366 votes back in 2000. By Monday afternoon, New Mexico had reported 425,425 mail or early, in-person votes as sourced by TargetSmart and state officials. The Democrats lead with 52% of the vote ahead of the GOP who currently trail by 17 percentage points. Almost half of the votes cast so far were by those in the over 65 age group.
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The state, internationally famous for the filming of TV show Breaking Bad, has a number of elections coming up on Tuesday. No Senate seats will be voted upon but residents have the opportunity to choose their governor and representatives in the House.
Key midterm races in New Mexico
Democrats and Republicans will be battling for the governorship. Incumbent Michelle Lujan Grisham faces off against Republican Mark Ronchetti, the Republican candidate for a Senate seat in 2020. He lost by a 6.1% margin while his Democrat opponent Grisham won the last governor election with 56.9% of the vote. The last year saw her face a sexual battery charge by a former staffer in which she paid to settle out of court with no liability.
New Mexico has only three seats in the House of Representatives. The three congressional districts are vaguely defined as the north of the state, the south, and the city of Albuquerque.
- Teresa Leger Fernandez - D (north)
- Yvette Herrell - R (south)
- Melanie Stansbury - D (Albuquerque)
How can I vote in New Mexico’s midterm elections?
If you’ve voted before, you don’t need to provide ID to vote. You only need to show ID in New Mexico if you’re a first-time voter who registered by mail and didn’t include a copy of your ID with your registration form.
If you’re a first-time voter who registered by mail, and didn’t provide your driver’s license number, state ID number, last 4 digits of your Social Security number, or a copy of a current ID or government document that shows your name and address when you registered, you’ll need to provide one of the following when you vote:
- copy of a current and valid photo identification
- copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student ID and either a residential contract/lease or any postmarked mail delivered to your current residence address or other government document that shows your name and address
If you are unable to provide ID, you will be able to vote a provisional ballot. After voting provisionally, you will be told how to submit additional proof of registration to the election authority. The additional information must be received by the election authority no later than the close of business on the Tuesday following the election.
You can cast your vote in person at your local county clerk’s office on Tuesday 8 November. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. However, you will still be able to cast a ballot after 7 p.m. as long as you were waiting in the queue before the polls closed.
Although the deadline to register for the Nov. 8 general election has passed, New Mexico offers same-day registration during early voting and on Election Day at some early voting sites and county clerks’ offices. You can check to see if you are registered to vote through the state’s voter information portal.