Voting and Elections

Voter Registration Eligibility Requirements

In order to register and vote in New Mexico, an applicant must be:

• A resident of New Mexico
• A citizen of the United States
• An individual who has not been denied the right to vote by a court of law due to reason of mental incapacity
• 18 years or older at the time of the next election
• If you are currently incarcerated in New Mexico for a felony offense you cannot vote while you are incarcerated. However, once you are no longer confined to a jail, prison, or other correctional facility you can register and vote in New Mexico elections. You can register to vote and vote even if you are on probation or parole. 

Register to Vote or Update Your Registration

You can now register and update your registration online. If you have either a current or expired New Mexico state I.D. (like a driver’s license) you can register for the first time or make changes to your registration—like name, address or party affiliation—easily using our online system.

If you don’t have a state-issued I.D., or otherwise would prefer to register by mail, you can pick up a voter registration application form or print the national form online, fill it out, then mail it to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office or your local County Clerk’s Office. If you are not sure where to send it, you can look it up on our website or call us at 1-800-477-3632.

If you change your name or move you must fill out a new voter registration form and submit to your local County Clerk’s Office or the Secretary of State’s Office. You must also fill out a new form if you want to change your party affiliation.

First-Time Registration By Mail

If you are registering for the first time in New Mexico, and you submit the registration form by mail, then you must submit with the form a copy of (1) a current and valid photo identification; or (2) a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student identification card or other government document, including identification issued by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo that shows your name and current address. If you do not submit one of these forms of identification with your mailed-in, first time registration, then you would be required to present one of the forms of identification when voting in person or absentee.

Change your Voter Registration

If you change your name or move you must fill out a new voter registration form and submit to your local County Clerk’s Office or the Secretary of State’s Office. You must also fill out a new form if you want to change your party affiliation.