NMSU students in Las Cruces take part in National Voter Registration Day

Several dozen people registered to vote on New Mexico State University’s main campus on Tuesday for National Voter Registration Day, with less than two months left until the midterm general elections.

The annual nonpartisan civic holiday is recognized each September as a coordinated push to register new voters and update registrants’ information ahead of the general election. The League of Women Voters of Southern New Mexico partnered with the Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office again this year to set up several locations across the NMSU campus to help people register and provide information about voting locations, ballot boxes and candidate details.

“I can tell anybody, New Mexico wants you to vote,” Rebecca Courtney, a member of the league and part of LWV’s voter registration effort, told Source NM. 

The League started its voter registration campaign on Sept. 4 at the Branigan Cultural Center in downtown Las Cruces and has registration and informational events scheduled through Oct. 17 at various public buildings and the Farmers and Crafts Market of Las Cruces.

Volunteer registration agents are partnering with the local public high schools as well to register newly eligible voters who did not already complete their registration while applying for a driver’s license.

A majority of the university students who registered on Tuesday were freshman, Courtney told Source NM, some of whom filled out their registration for their hometowns in New Mexico outside of Las Cruces. Their completed forms are sent to their respective county clerk’s offices for processing.

Britnie Robertson, an NMSU freshman from Rio Rancho, told Source she registered to vote for the first time Tuesday and is excited to participate, though she is still learning about the candidates that will be on the ballot.

The League of Women Voters traditionally releases a voter guide with candidate information and answers to hot topic questions. Courtney told Source NM that the southern New Mexico guide is expected to be released in early October. The League refers people to Vote411.org to find a consolidated list of voter guides as well as information about registering to vote online, how to check your registration status and how to request an absentee ballot. The southern New Mexico chapter is also partnering with KRWG public media to host local candidate forums that will be recorded and broadcast several times ahead of the midterms.

“We only have two jobs to do—empower voters and defend democracy. That’s what we do,” Courtney told Source NM.

Early voting begins Oct. 6 and ends Oct. 31, while the last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Oct. 20.