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BOSUE FARMS — A representative from the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office recently visited Valencia County to present an overview of the voting process.
Calling her presentation “Voting 101,” BC Nguyen, the SOS elections outreach coordinator, spoke to a crowd of about a dozen people at the Bosque Farms Community Center on Aug. 26, which was the same day candidates across the state filed to run for the Nov. 4 Regular Local Election.
Originally from Vietnam and now a U.S. citizen, Nguyen said there aren’t really elections in Vietnam in the sense that voters can make choices.
“In Vietnam, there’s only one party, the Communist Party. There are elections, but the candidates are chosen by the political party,” Nguyen said. “It was important to me as a woman growing up and wanting to have my voice heard. Becoming a citizen of a country that has real democracy like America, I try to tell my daughter and coming baby that their voices will be heard through their ballot.”
There is a long history of fighting for voting rights in this country, she said, from the federal level down to the local level, right here in Valencia County. Nguyen touched on several significant voting milestones — black men gaining the right to vote in 1870, women in 1920 and in 1965, discriminatory practices such as poll taxes and literacy tests being eliminated to make sure there were no arbitrary barriers to voting. Across the country, the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1971.
In New Mexico, one of the most significant national voting changes happened in Valencia County in 1948. When Miguel Trujillo, a member of Isleta Pueblo, returned from World War II, he tried to register to vote. He was told as a Native American he didn’t have that right. He took the Valencia County clerk at the time to court and won, securing Native American voting rights across the U.S.
Two years ago, the state enacted its own voting rights act to continue improving equity and access, Nguyen said.
To register to vote in New Mexico, a person has to be U.S. citizen, resident of New Mexico and at least 18 years old by Election Day. Nguyen said New Mexico does have preregistration for voters who are 17 years old and will be 18 by the next election. When they preregister, they are put on a “pending” registration list. Once they turn 18, they are automatically registered and become an active voter.
“New Mexico is a leader in young voter engagement,” she said.
In New Mexico, people who have completed a felony sentence are allowed to register and vote, so long as they are no longer incarcerated. A person can register and vote even if they are on probation or parole.
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Residents can register to vote in a number of ways — in person, online or now, automatically through the state Motor Vehicle Division. To register online at nmvote.org, you need to have either a current or expired New Mexico state I.D., such as a driver’s license, to register for the first time or make changes to your registration, such as your name, address or party affiliation.
Voters can register by mail by printing out the form found online or getting a copy at the Valencia County clerk’s office, 444 Luna Ave., Los Lunas. The form can be returned either to the SOS or clerk’s office.
Anyone registering for the first time in New Mexico by mail must submit the registration form, as well as a copy of a current and valid photo identification or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student identification card or other government document, including identification issued by a Native nation, tribe or pueblo that shows their name and current address.
If a person doesn’t submit one of these forms of I.D. with their mailed-in, first time registration, they have to present one of the forms of ID when voting in person or absentee.
A new law, which went into effect on July 1, automatically registers eligible voters during transactions with the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division, Nguyen said.
“If you are unregistered, you will automatically be registered and be guided to chose a (political) affiliation or chose to not affiliate with a party,” Nguyen said.
Five days after automatic registration, the voter receives information by mail that lets them opt out of being registered. Voters can also do same day voter registration during the 28 days of early voting and on Election Day itself by going to any polling location, where they can register and cast a ballot on the same day.
The state’s “safe at home” program helps survivors of domestic violence and stalking register to vote safely so their location doesn’t become public knowledge. Nguyen said voters who are eligible for the program can use the secretary of state’s address for registration and to receive ballots to vote by mail, “so abusers can’t use public records to continue to stalk or abuse.”
Voters in New Mexico can cast a ballot in several different ways — via absentee ballot, which doesn’t require the voter to provide a reason or excuse for requesting, in person during early voting or in person on Election Day.
“Absentee and mail-in voting are different names for the same thing,” Nguyen said. “You can mail the ballot back in, drop it off at the clerk’s office or any polling location.”
Valencia County also has three secure absentee ballot drop boxes — Bosque Farms Public Library, 1455 W. Bosque Loop, Bosque Farms; Valencia County Administration Building, 444 Luna Ave., Los Lunas and Belen Community Center, 305 Eagle Lane, Belen — which are checked daily for ballots through Nov. 4.
An absentee ballot can be requested online at nmvote.org or at the county clerk’s office starting on Oct. 21, and the ballots can be tracked online at sos.nm.gov/trackmyballot.
Nguyen said voters shouldn’t think about voting as something that happens on just one day, but rather “a whole season. Voters have 28 days before Election Day when you can start voting” during early voting. She also reminded any procrastinators out there that as long as you are in line by 7 p.m. on Election Day, you have the right to wait and vote.
“Take your time. You will get to vote,” she said.
She also reminded Valencia County voters that instead of having to vote in their precinct, they can go to any one of the 15 voting convenience centers to cast a ballot on Election Day.
Since the county uses convenience centers, ballots are printed “on demand” and customized to each voter with the races and any election questions they are eligible to vote for. Voters can visit nmvote.org and download their personalized ballot so they can “study up on the candidates,” Nguyen said, or visit the clerk’s office for a printed copy of their sample ballot.
