Voting and Elections

When a vacancy occurs in the office of United States (US) Representative, a special election will be held to fill that vacancy. Under the New Mexico (NM) Constitution, Article 20, § 2, every public officer, unless removed, is deemed to hold their office until their successor qualifies. The effective date of a resignation shall trigger the Secretary of State’s duty under the Election Code to announce the vacant office and call for a special election. 

The office of the Secretary of State received the resignation of Representative Haaland on March 16, 2021, and Secretary Toulouse Oliver issued a proclamation calling for a Special Congressional Election to be held on JUNE 1, 2021, to fill the vacancy in the office of United States representative.

Timeline Overview:

• March 16, 2021: An office becomes vacant. The Secretary of State received a letter of resignation from Representative Haaland, thus creating a vacancy in the US House of Representatives, NM Congressional District 1 (CD1).
• March 18, 2021: The Secretary Of State issued a proclamation calling for an election to be held on Tuesday, June 1, 2021.
• April 6, 2021: Candidate Filing Day. Declarations of Candidacy, Declarations of Independent Candidacy,  Declarations of Intent to Be A Write-In Candidate and Nominating Petitions (if required), must be filed in the office of the Secretary of State (located at 325 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe, NM 87501) between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Items cannot be pre-filed or filed at a later time. Prescribed forms and additional information for candidates can be found here.
• May 4, 2021: Twenty-eight (28) days before the election:
• Voter Registration (by mail or online) closes; qualified electors can utilize same-day registration (SDR) to submit a new voter registration form, or update their existing registration – at select early voting and election day locations within their county of residence. To register to vote or update your existing registration online, go here. For more information about the SDR locations and hours of operation in your county, please contact your county clerk’s office.
• County clerks can begin mailing ballots to voters who have requested an absentee ballot (in a timely fashion) and who are eligible to participate in the election (i.e. voter resides within the boundaries of CD1).
• Early in-person voting begins. Please note: The NM Election Code provides a directive to establish one early in-person polling location at the office of the county clerk (or alternate location near the clerk’s office). Additional Early Voting sites may begin operating on the third Saturday before a statewide election.
• May 15, 2021: Additional early voting locations open.
• May 18, 2021: Last day to submit an absentee request for domestic mail ballots.
• May 25, 2021: Last day that Military-Overseas voters can submit an absentee request (for secure electronic transmission of the ballot; if the federal qualified elector is requesting that a ballot be sent by mail, the request must be made by the deadline of May 18).
• May 29, 2021: Last day of early voting.
• June 1, 2021: Election Day. Polling locations will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Voters may vote in-person at any of the locations within their registered county. Voters who have requested an absentee ballot may also return their sealed absentee ballot to a polling location within their registered county, no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election night.
• June 22, 2021: The State Canvass Board will meet and certify the election.

Proclamation:

• 2021 Special Congressional Election Proclamation – English
• 2021 Special Congressional Election Proclamation – Spanish 

Additional Resources:

• FAQs for Prospective Candidates
• FAQs for Voters 

Nominating Petitions:

• 2021 Special CD1 Election: IndependentNominating Petition – English
• 2021  Special CD1 Election: Independent Nominating Petition – Spanish

Minor Party Nominating Petitions

• 2021 Special CD1 Election: Minor Party Nominating Petition – English
• 2021 Special CD1 Election: Minor Party Nominating Petition – Spanish