N.M. Stat. § 1-4-2 (2026)

A. Any qualified resident of New Mexico shall be permitted within the provisions of the
Election Code to submit a voter registration certificate in paper form, through the online voter
registration portal provided by the secretary of state, electronically when conducting an in-
person transaction at the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department or as
otherwise prescribed by the secretary of state. The certificate shall be processed by the county
clerk in the same manner as for a qualified elector, but the qualified resident shall not become a
voter nor be considered a voter except as provided by this section.

   B. If a qualified resident submits a voter registration certificate in accordance with the
provisions of Subsection A of this section and pursuant to the requirements of Section 1-4-8
NMSA 1978, the qualified resident shall:

       (1)    become a voter upon the qualified resident's eighteenth birthday;

       (2)    be considered a voter for the purpose of participation in a statewide or special
election where the qualified resident will turn eighteen on or before the day of the statewide or
special election; or

       (3)   be considered a voter for the purpose of participation in a political party primary
election where the qualified resident will turn eighteen on or before the day of the general
election immediately succeeding the primary election.

    C. Any resident of New Mexico who may be a qualified elector upon the resident's
eighteenth birthday, who obtains a license, permit or identification card from the motor vehicle
division of the taxation and revenue department and who has not submitted a voter registration
certificate pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall be sent a notification by the secretary of
state advising the resident of the requirements and opportunity to register to vote and a uniform
resource locator for a web page where the resident may submit a voter registration certificate
online. When applicable, a notification shall be sent to a resident described in this subsection
within the sixty days following the resident's seventeenth birthday, when the resident obtained a
license, permit or identification card from the motor vehicle division prior to the resident's
seventeenth birthday and within thirty days prior to the resident's eighteenth birthday.

History: 1953 Comp., § 3-4-2, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 240, § 60; 1975, ch. 255, § 34; 2011,
ch. 137, § 30; 2016, ch. 28, § 1; 2019, ch. 212, § 46.

                                          ANNOTATIONS
Cross references. — For definition of qualified elector, see 1-1-4 NMSA 1978.

For eligibility to vote in federal elections, see 1-21-3 NMSA 1978.

The 2019 amendment, effective April 3, 2019, provided for registration of qualified residents; in
the section heading, deleted "qualification for", and added "of qualified residents"; in Subsection
A, after "Any", added "qualified", after "New Mexico", deleted "who will be a qualified elector at
the date of the next ensuing general election", and after "Election Code to", deleted "register
and become a voter" and added the remainder of the subsection; and in Subsection B, in the
introductory clause, after "If a", deleted "person who is seventeen years old will be a qualified
elector on the day of the general election and registers to vote in accordance with the provisions
of Subsection A of this section, for the purposes of the primary election, that person shall be
considered to be a voter and may vote in the primary election immediately preceding that
general election" and added the remainder of the introductory clause, and added new
Paragraphs B(1) through B(3); and added Subsection C.

The 2016 amendment, effective May 18, 2016, allowed persons who are seventeen years old
and who will be eighteen years old by the date of the general election to vote in the primary
election; in the catchline, added "right to vote in primary", and at the beginning of the first
paragraph, added the subsection designation "A"; in Subsection A, after "next ensuing", added
"general", and added new Subsection B.

The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, limited the right to register to residents of New
Mexico.

Residence presumed unchanged unless proven. — Once residence is established, it is
presumed to remain until change is proven, and he who attacks the vote must prove the
change. Berry v. Hull, 1892-NMSC-029, 6 N.M. 643, 30 P. 936.

Elector to vote at place of residence even if place of business different. — A voter may
have a residence in one place and business in another, and should vote at his residence; this
applies especially to those who are not in a fixed business, such as cowboys. Berry v. Hull,
1892-NMSC-029, 6 N.M. 643, 30 P. 936.

Term "residence," as used in constitutional or statutory provisions relating to the qualifications
of electors, is synonymous with home or domicile, denoting a permanent place to which a party
when absent intends to return. 1954 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 54-5948.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 25 Am. Jur. 2d Elections § 104.

Women's suffrage amendment to federal or state constitution as affecting pre-existing
constitutional or statutory provisions which limited rights or duties to legal or male voters, 157
A.L.R. 461.

Incompetents: voting rights of persons mentally incapacitated, 80 A.L.R.3d 1116.

29 C.J.S. Elections § 40(1).