Early voting surge gives Democrats early edge in Bernalillo County

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Bernalillo County voters are helping shape New Mexico’s next political era ahead of the Nov. 3 election, with Democrats turning out at higher rates than Republicans, continuing a pattern seen in last year’s municipal election.

As of Oct. 22, nearly one in five registered Democrats had cast a ballot, compared with about one in eight Republicans and fewer than one in 12 voters registered as declined to state. According to the Bernalillo County turnout dashboard, voters had cast 68,381 ballots as of noon, including 50,910 early in-person votes and 17,471 absentee ballots. Democrats accounted for 40,661 ballots, or 59.5% of the total, while Republicans cast 16,344, or 23.9%. Voters registered as declined to state (DTS) accounted for 11,375 ballots, or 16.6%. Secretary of State data from 8 a.m. Oct. 22 shows voters registered with the Forward, Green and Libertarian parties cast a combined 951 ballots statewide. The county dashboard does not break out those parties separately.

Statewide, the Secretary of State’s Office recorded 187,880 ballots as of 8 a.m. Oct. 22. Democrats accounted for 106,798 ballots, or 56.8%, followed by Republicans with 51,720, or 27.5%, and voters registered as declined to state with 28,035, or 14.9%. About 18.5% of registered Democratic voters statewide had cast ballots, compared with 11.6% of Republicans and 6.9% of declined-to-state voters.

A spokesperson for the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office said early voting has been steady, with some precincts seeing as many as 1,000 voters a day. According to the county’s dashboard, Oct. 19 saw the highest single-day early voting turnout, with 11,743 votes cast. Secretary of State’s Office data shows county voters had requested 36,313 absentee ballots, including 21,560 from Democrats. Of the 593 residents who registered to vote at early voting sites, 63.6% were Democrats.

Early voting runs through Oct. 31, ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3. Major races include those for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Bernalillo County sheriff, assessor and County Commission. Voters will also decide constitutional amendments and bond questions. Check The Paper’s early voting guide for voting details and the League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico’s guide for candidate information and ballot details.

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