Early voting begins at alternate locations

Early in-person primary voting begins Saturday, May 16, at consolidated alternate voting sites in Las Cruces and throughout Doña Ana County.

Here are the locations:

• Anthony City Hall, 820 Highway 478 in Anthony, New Mexico;
• Dolores C. Wright Educational Center, 400 E. Lisa Drive in Chaparral;
• Doña Ana Community College – Sunland Park, 3365 McNutt Road in Sunland Park;
• Hatch High School, 170 E. Herrera Road in Hatch;
• Four locations in Las Cruces: Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 N. Motel Blvd.; Las Cruces City Hall, 700 N. Main St.; Corbett Center, 1600 International Mall on the NMSU campus; and Sonoma Elementary School, 4201 Northrise Drive.

At the county clerk’s office, early, in-person voting is available 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and on the Saturday (May 30) immediately before primary election day. Alternate voting locations will be open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday through Saturday, May 30.

Same-day voter registration is available at all these locations during early voting.

All voting stations will be at least six feet apart and no more than five voters at a time will be allowed in a voting location, Doña Ana County Clerk Amada Lopez Askin said. Poll workers will wear personal protective equipment and plexiglass separators will be used to provide a safety barrier between voters and poll workers, she said, disposable wooden sticks will be used in place of a stylus for signing ballots, all pens will be sanitized after each use and regular sanitizing will take place at voting locations.

“I am so grateful that we have so many community partners that are willing to work with us on giving access to voters while at the same time maximizing the precautions we take while they are voting,” Lopez Askin said.

Lopez Askin recommended voting by absentee ballot in the primary and she encouraged people who vote in person to wear a mask, but said, “We’re not going to deny a person access to the ballot box because they’re not wearing a mask.” She said a limited number of masks will be available to be given to voters who don’t have a mask.

Thursday, May 28, is the last day to apply for an absentee ballot to vote by mail in the primary. Voters can drop off their completed ballots in sealed envelopes at any polling location throughout the county. Immediate family members or caregivers can drop them off a voter’s sealed absentee ballot at the county clerk’s office at the county government building. Completed absentee ballots must be turned in by 7 p.m. on election day, which is Tuesday, June 2.
To receive an absentee ballot, voters can fill out and mail back the absentee-ballot request form they receive from the Doña Ana County Clerk’s office, or they can apply for an absentee ballot at https://portal.sos.state.nm.us/OVR/WebPages/AbsenteeApplication.aspx. Or visit www.donaanacounty.org/elections/elections-info and click on NMVote.org to request an absentee ballot online. It takes less than five minutes to fill out the request.