Associated Press: New Mexico rolls out same-day voter registration program

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democrat-backed efforts to expand voter access in New Mexico are coming to fruition, with the rollout of same-day voter registration this month.

The first trial run took place in a low-turnout special congressional election on June 1, allowing voters to register at early voting centers in the final weeks of balloting and Election Day.

In all, 2,012 residents took advantage of the opportunity to register during the final four weeks of the election, according to the New Mexico secretary of state’s office. …

Same day registration is likely to be an option in future New Mexico elections, but it requires approval every two years by a panel of voting systems regulators. Approval is pending for the November local election to pick mayors in cities including Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

Previously, voter registration was halted 28 days before any election as a precaution against possible double-voting while county clerks updated registration rolls painstakingly by hand with paper and ink, said Mario Jimenez, a policy campaign manager with the progressive good-government group Common Cause New Mexico.

That is no longer necessary with advances in electronic record keeping and technology that synchronizes voter registration records with state motor vehicle databases.

Jimenez believes the switch to same-day registration, if adopted in future elections statewide, will expand voter access and participation in elections and improve the accuracy of voter registration rolls.