Las Cruces – Early voting in Doña Ana County is off to a strong start. As of Oct. 19, the county has recorded 9,080 ballots cast through both in‑person and absentee channels, according to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s latest report.

Breakdown of early‑voting activity

Early in‑person voting accounted for 7,956 of those ballots, representing roughly 88% of the county’s total early turnout. The remaining 1,124 ballots were submitted via absentee voting.

Statewide, New Mexico voters have cast 97,494 ballots so far, including 74,093 early in‑person votes and 23,401 absentee ballots.

Party registration of early voters

Among the Doña Ana County voters who have already voted, 5,425 are registered Democrats, 2,154 are registered Republicans, 1,457 declined to state a party affiliation, and 44 are registered with other parties or classifications. These figures reflect registration status only and do not indicate how any individual voted on specific candidates or measures.

Statewide, the party‑registration breakdown of ballots cast mirrors the county pattern, with 56,922 Democratic, 25,797 Republican, 14,128 unaffiliated, and 647 other‑party voters.

Absentee ballot requests

In addition to the ballots already cast, Doña Ana County has recorded 8,880 absentee ballot requests. The state total stands at 86,073 requests. It is important to note that a request does not guarantee a returned or counted ballot.

Expanded early‑voting locations and same‑day registration

Early voting began on Saturday, Oct. 17, with additional sites beyond the county clerk’s offices. Voting will continue through Saturday, Oct. 31. Residents who missed the online or mail registration deadline of Oct. 6 can still register and vote on the same day at designated locations. The Secretary of State reported 65 same‑day registrations in Doña Ana County and 749 statewide.

Key upcoming dates

The final day to request a mail‑in absentee ballot is Tuesday, Oct. 20. Election Day is set for Tuesday, Nov. 3, with polling locations open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters returning absentee ballots by mail must ensure they are received by election officials no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.

These early‑voting figures represent a snapshot of participation to date and do not constitute a final turnout count. The reports also do not include the total number of registered voters in each jurisdiction, so turnout percentages cannot yet be calculated.

Original reporting: Organ Mountain News (Las Cruces / Doña Ana County) — read the source article.