Early voting begins today; 19 convenience centers available
A mobile unit will also travel around Bernalillo County daily
With Nov. 6 election day closing in fast, there are a number of other dates and deadlines to keep in mind, particularly early voting, which begins statewide today, says Bernalillo County Clerk Linda Stover.
Absentee voting began on Oct. 9 “and they have to be received by our office by election day, no later than 7 p.m., whether it’s mailed, hand delivered or sent by carrier pigeon,” she joked. “We get absentee votes from all over the world — people on military bases or just living abroad — they just have to be registered to vote in the county.”
The deadline for voter registration, however, is now closed until after the election.
“We continue to allow people to register, but they won’t be entered into the computer until after the election,” Stover said. “This November election is too late for them.”
People can determine their registration status by looking up their own names on the clerk’s office website at bernco.gov/clerk. “If they
find their name, they’re registered, if they don’t, then they’re not,” she said.
Early voting ends Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. There will be 19 Voter Convenience Centers open for early voting and 69 centers open on election day.
In addition, the county’s mobile voting unit will visit 13 sites between Oct. 20 and Nov. 3 for early voting.
Through the end of Thursday, some 41,521 New Mexicans have already cast their votes, 12,680 by absentee ballot and 28,841 in person at clerk’s offices.
The deadline and dates for absentee and early voting are the same in Rio Rancho and Sandoval County, said Bernice Chavez, the Sandoval County Bureau of Elections manager.
Twelve early voting sites will be open from Oct. 20 through Nov. 3, and another six will be set up for two days at a time at Indian pueblos and reservations around the county, she said.
On election day, Sandoval County will have 26 voter convenience centers and 22 traditional polling places, meaning only voters who live in those precincts can cast ballots there.
People who live in those traditional voting precincts can cast votes at voter convenience centers, but those will be on provisional ballots, Chavez said.
For additional information, go to sandovalcountynm.gov.
The New Mexico Secretary of State’s office also has an online voter portal at nmvote.org.