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Voters enter the Doña Ana County Government Center in October to vote in advance for the mid-term elections. The 2nd Congressional District of New Mexico is geographically one of the largest in the country. (Angela Kocherga / Albuquerque Journal)
Copyright © 2018 Albuquerque Journal
New Mexicans voted in advance and postal votes in record numbers before Tuesday's mid-term elections.
More than 430,000 people had already voted Saturday night, when in-person voting ended across the state, according to data released Sunday by the Secretary of State's office.
In a press release issued Sunday, US Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said the early vote in the country had produced record results this year, "and that New Mexico is no exception. "
"A healthy democracy requires healthy voter turnout and with more than 430,000 New Mexicans having already voted this year, it is clear that our democracy is alive and well," she said.
This corresponds to 250,000 anticipated and absent votes at mid-term in 2014 and about 297,000 in the last governor's elections opened in 2010.
According to Brian Sanderoff, president of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc., this year's totals represent a record of early voter turnout and an absent voter turnout for a non-presidential cycle.
"This shows that voters in New Mexico are very enthusiastic and interested in this non-presidential election, which generally has a lower turnout," said Sanderoff.
And while the Democrats showed more energy in the beginning, members of both parties finally came out at an impressive and almost equal rate.
Sanderoff said 38.6 percent of registered Democrats and 38.3 percent of registered Republicans voted early.
The registered Democrats accounted for just over half of the 430,000 voters, Republicans registered just over a third. The others were unaffiliated or associated with a third party.
According to Sanderoff, early participation is not necessarily a barometer of what will happen on Tuesday.
"It may be that many people simply wanted to vote before polling day and the voter turnout was moderate on polling day itself," Sanderoff said.
The absentees ballots can be submitted until 19 hours. Polling stations across the state will be open from 7 am to 7 pm
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