The same-day voter registration station at the polling location inside the gymnasium at Carlos Gilbert Elementary in Santa Fe. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM)

By the time polls closed on election day, more than 205,000 people had voted in New Mexico’s primary election.

According to a 5 p.m. update by the New Mexico Secretary of State, 85,583 New Mexicans voted on election day. That is in addition to the 119,966 ballots cast before Tuesday during the early voting period.

At 5 p.m. 121,615 voted in the Democratic primary either on election day or before. 83,248 voted in the Republican primary, and 684 voted in the Libertarian primary.

Early voting totals showed that 87,787 people voted in-person, and 32,179 people voted by mail.

We will update results tonight as they come in from the New Mexico Secretary of State.

Now attention will head to the November general election where some candidates that won today will face opponents, but many, like in the primary, will not.

This year will be the first presidential election for Lauren Hartzell, a 19-year-old biology and chemistry student at the University of New Mexico, and a registered independent. Her first time voting was in 2022.

Hartzell said she will be voting in the general election, but she forgot about the primary election, and said she didn’t know whether she could vote in the primary (she would’ve needed to change her party registration to Democrat, Republican or Libertarian).

“I remember when I turned 18, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m really glad that I’m finally old enough, but it had kind of fallen off my radar,’” Hartzell said.

“American politics are not a very high priority in my life. My car’s broken down, I’m doing a lot of work stuff, and traveling a bunch,” she said.

Asked what would make it easier to vote, Hartzell suggested more education on how to vote. Without the internet, she wouldn’t know what to do.

Lily Rich, a 19-year-old first-time voter and a registered independent, echoed that sentiment.

“I think voting is important, and I plan to do so, but as of now, with all the changes in what’s going on, I don’t feel like I have all the information or time to make a decision about who would be best.”

Rich said she probably would not vote in the primary on Tuesday, but would if there were different candidates.

She said information about how the primary works should be more widespread, and there should be a better way to educate and inform young voters (she also would have needed to change her party registration to one of the major parties).

“I think having a source that’s unbiased where you can find all the information without people’s own opinions being in there would be really helpful, because these topics are really heated,” Rich said. “Especially at my age, where a lot of people are super liberal, it’s really hard to tell what’s going on.”

Hartzell said she thinks it’s important for everyone to vote because the U.S. was built on democracy and without doing so, one’s voice on laws and policy won’t be heard.

“I would encourage everyone to vote, not just people I agree with,” Hartzell said. “I think it is really important to vote, get out there and voice our opinions.”

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