Rio Rancho officials report increased early voting, advise voters on absentee procedures

Miss Davis, speaking to the mayor and governing body, gave the governing body an update on the municipal officer election's early-voting activity and voter services.

"Early voting actually started on February 3," Miss Davis said, and she reported that in an initial period the Clerk's Annex (Broadmoor Senior Center) recorded 692 early voters in the first 10 days; she told the council the total early-voter count was 1,645 "as of today." Davis said the city expanded early-voting locations to include four additional sites, mostly city facilities, plus one commercial location on Southern Boulevard at Lariat Square.

Davis noted a decline in absentee-ballot usage compared with 2022 and attributed part of that difference to the state's adoption of a permanent absentee list for statewide elections. She said municipal contests are not covered by the state's permanent list and that some voters have been confused about whether they should expect an absentee ballot. She advised constituents who need an absentee ballot to request one through the Secretary of State's website; the city receives those requests through an electronic portal and processes them.

The clerk also said same-day voter registration is available at all polling sites and walked the council through turnout patterns across polling sites. She clarified county registration figures during questions, noting the city spans portions of Sandoval and Bernalillo counties and described where local registered-voter totals are concentrated.

Council and staff discussed turnout trends and options for boosting municipal participation; the mayor noted municipal elections traditionally draw lower turnout than federal contests. The work session concluded with no action items related to elections.