More than 37,000 independent voters cast ballots during New Mexico’s first-ever semi-open primary election, which Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver touted as a success Tuesday evening as results continued to pour in from the primary election.
The Legislature in 2024 enacted Senate Bill 16, which allows independents, also known as “decline to state” voters, to no longer have to register as either Democrats or Republicans to vote in primary elections.
The change meant those voters — who comprise a growing number of the New Mexico electorate — could simply request either a Democratic or Republican ballot during the primary election that concluded Tuesday.
While the final figures on which party they selected were not immediately available on Tuesday night, Secretary of State data as of 5 p.m. showed that roughly 47% of the 33,545 independent voters who had cast ballots during the primary voted for Democrats.
Toulouse Oliver, in a statement Tuesday, congratulated her staff and other officials for adapting to the change.
“We had a successful first Semi-open Primary Election thanks to the members of my team, county clerks, and the poll workers who have worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth voting process for all those who participated,” said Toulouse Oliver, who was term-limited from running for re-election, but won her race in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor.
After the Legislature passed SB16, local and national advocacy groups sought to inform as many independents about the change as possible and repeatedly identified educating the newly enfranchised voters as their biggest challenge.
With just a few weeks before the election, most county clerks’ websites did not mention the change.
Still, ahead of the Tuesday primary, the number of “decline to state” voters continued to increase, according to Secretary of State’s Office registration statistics. In January, for example, about 359,000 independent voters comprised 25.6% of the statewide electorate; in May, a little over 380,000 independents comprised 26.7%.
“Our democracy works best and New Mexico benefits overall when more registered voters are able to participate in our elections,” Toulouse Oliver said.
