Early voting in N.M. starts off with rush

First day in Doña Ana County drew eight times as many ballots as same day in 2014

New Mexicans have seen the ads and might have even seen a debate or two.

Now, plenty of New Mexicans are ready to vote.

By midafternoon Thursday, 8,358 people already had voted in person at the offices of their local county clerks, and another 503 had mailed in absentee ballots for the Nov. 6 general election, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

By far, more early voters turned out in Doña Ana County than in any other county, with about 1,773 having cast ballots before the end of business on Wednesday.

The first day of voting in the Southern New Mexico county saw eight times as many voters cast ballots as on the same day four years earlier, the County Clerk’s Office said.

Of those who cast their ballot in Doña Ana County, voters registered as Democrats outnumbered Republicans nearly 2-to-1.

Both parties are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into the race for the area’s congressional district.

While the southern end of the state has reliably re-elected Republican Steve Pearce to the U.S. House of Representatives for years, he is now leaving Congress to run for governor. And polls have shown the race between GOP nominee Yvette Herrell and Democrat Xochitl Torres Small as relatively tight. In recent weeks, closely watched analysts like Larry Sabato have declared the race a toss up.

Meanwhile, local television viewers are inundated with political messages.

The National Republican Congressional Committee has spent more than $990,000 on the race. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has dumped more than $1 million into the contest. And other groups are taking to the airwaves, too, running one ad after another about the candidates.

No one thing seems to be driving the rush at the starting gun, said Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin.

López Askin’s office has been more active in promoting voting and registration on social media. In turn, there may be more awareness of early voting options.

The county held an event for high school students on the first day of voting.

But López Askin said officials staffing the polls had not seen too many young people filing through to vote.

“The presiding judge really indicated it seemed to be more of an older crowd,” the clerk said.

Whatever it is, there is a sort of energy, she added.

Santa Fe County ranks second for turnout so far, with 791 voters having cast ballots by midafternoon Thursday, followed by Taos County, with 666 voters. In Bernalillo County, about 596 voters had cast ballots.

Democrats have turned out in far greater numbers so far than Republicans; only about 1 in 10 voters who had cast a ballot as of Thursday was an independent.

Santa Fe County voters can cast ballots at the Clerk’s Office, 102 Grant Ave., between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. For more information, call 505-9866280.

Additional voting sites will open across Santa Fe County on Oct. 20.