Independents can vote for the first time ever in New Mexico primary election

SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO – Thanks to a new law, independent and most minor party voters can vote in today’s New Mexico primary election for the first time ever.

So-called “decline to state” voters, often referred to as independents, and most minor party voters don’t have to change their party affiliation to Democrat or Republican to be able to participate in either of those parties’ primaries, election officials said.

“They can just walk into a polling place and request a Democrat or Republican ballot,” said Chief Deputy Doña Ana County Clerk Caroline Zamora.

The two exceptions are voters registered as Libertarian or Green Party, groups that have official minor party status in New Mexico, Zamora said. Members of those parties will have to use same-day voting registration to first change their party to any of the other options available to be able to participate in the Republican or Democratic primaries.

Civic advocates backed the change to what are known as semi-open primary elections to encourage greater voter participation, especially because many races are decided at the primary level. Prior to this year, a decline-to-state voter would have had to formally change their party to Democrat or Republican (or Libertarian, when that party for a while had major party status) to be able to cast a ballot in a primary election. That was allowed but would have been an extra step to be able to vote.

And significant numbers of voters identify as independents statewide. In Doña Ana County, for instance, there are 137,460 voters registered as follows: 

• Democrats: 55,627 (40%)

• Republicans: 36,316 (26%)

• Decline-to-state: 42,907 (31%)

• Other: 2,610 (2%)

Late afternoon Friday, about 11,400 votes had been cast through early and absentee voting in Doña Ana County, about an 8% turnout so far. A total of 845 decline-to-state voters had requested Democratic ballots, and another 240 had requested Republican ballots, according to Zamora.

Common Cause New Mexico, which backed the move toward semi-open primaries in 2025, notes that relatively high percentages of young Native and Hispanic/Latino voters – about 4 in 10 – are registered as independents.

Election day runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 2 in counties across New Mexico. Here’s a map of polling locations throughout Doña Ana County.

The New Mexico Election Day Voter Hotline, which fields questions and concerns, is available at 1-800-477-3632, Option #2.