NM voters can now file online requests for absentee ballots
SANTA FE — For the first time, registered New Mexico voters will be able to request absentee ballots for this year’s election cycle online.
Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s office pushed for the change, which will allow voters to request an absentee ballot by providing personal information on a secure website — it can be found at nmvote.org.
After receiving a valid request, county clerks will send an absentee ballot to a voter’s mailing address, and voters will then be able to fill out the ballot and return it as they’ve done in the past — either in person or by mail.
Secretary of State’s Office spokesman Joey Keefe said the system will actually be more secure — it requires both a driver’s license number and Social Security number — than the traditional way of requesting an absentee ballot. But voters can still get absentee ballots by mail, phone or in person from any county clerk.
Absentee voting for the primary election begins May 8, which is also the last day to register for the June 5 primary. Ballots must be submitted to county clerks by the time polls close on Election Day.
RATING JUDGES: House Minority Leader Nate Gentry might be leaving the Legislature at the end of this year, but he’s not bidding adieu to public service.
In fact, he’ll soon go from voting on judicial budget requests to evaluating judges’ job performance.
Gentry, an Albuquerque Republican, was appointed this week to serve on the New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, a 15-member body that rates judges on their legal skills, fairness, preparation and communication ability.
The evaluations are then published during election years for judges who are up for retention.
Gentry said in March that he would not seek re-election to another two-year term in the House, ending a legislative run that began in 2011 and saw Gentry serve as House majority leader for two years after Republicans had seized control of the chamber for the first time in 60 years.
But Democrats reclaimed control of the House in the 2016 election cycle, and Gentry decided to forgo a re-election bid due to family health issues and so that he could focus on the law practice he operates with his mother.