Absentee voting by mail or in person
Voters may cast an absentee ballot or vote in person in the county clerk's office during regular business hours starting 28 days prior to an election.
No excuse is required to vote with an absentee ballot. You may request an absentee ballot from any County Clerk's Office. Any voter or organization may request the New Mexico absentee ballot application by mail, telephone, or in person. However, the information on the form may not be altered or re-arranged. You must complete the application on your own.
The county clerk must receive the New Mexico absentee ballot application no later than 5:00 pm on Friday before the election. The county clerk must either mail the ballot or notify you with the reason why the application was not accepted within 24 hours of receipt of the application.
The county clerk must receive the federal absentee application by facsimile or scanned document no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, before the election.
If you apply for an absentee ballot and receive it, you must vote that ballot. You will not be issued another ballot if the original ballot is destroyed, discarded or delivered to the polls unvoted. If you apply for, but do not receive the absentee ballot, you may go to the county clerk's office until Monday before the election and apply for a replacement ballot for the election.
You may also go to your polling place and vote on a paper ballot, in lieu of an absentee ballot on Election Day. You will be required to sign a sworn statement, under penalty of perjury, that you did not receive your ballot.
A member of your immediate family or your caregiver may hand-deliver your absentee ballot to the county clerk. An unrelated third party may not deliver another voter's absentee ballot. Ballots must be returned to the county clerk or voter's precinct before 7:00 pm on Election Day to be counted.
In order to request an absentee ballot by mail:
- Download an Absentee Ballot Application Here.
- Mail your Absentee Ballot Application to your County Clerk's Office.
The County Clerk's Office will process your application and send you a ballot in the mail. You will then fill out the ballot and return to the clerk's office no later than 7:00 PM on Election Day. If you are sent an absentee ballot in the mail you will not be allowed to vote at the polls on Election Day.