Email
Tomorrow (Oct. 9) is the start of early and absentee voting — the date that always makes it feel more like “election season” rather than just “campaign season” for me.
It’s also the deadline to register to vote. The voter rolls close at 5 p.m., so if you need to update your address or register for the first time, make sure you do it by then.
Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver reports that there are about 424,000 registered voters in the county right now, about 9 percent more than four years ago.
Absentee balloting, however, appears to be much slower this time around, according to the clerk’s office. The county has received about 16,000 absentee ballot requests so far this cycle, compared to 57,000 at a comparable point in 2008, officials said.
Perhaps interest in the election is down about because of the debate over whether New Mexico is still a “battleground” state in the presidential race.
And if you’re dying to vote in person, the county’s first early-voting location opens tomorrow at 8 a.m. The clerk’s annex at 620 Lomas NW will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
-- Email the reporter at dmckay@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 505-823-3566
