New Mexico’s first day of early voting for the June 2 primary election got off to a rocky start Tuesday after technical problems disrupted same-day voter registration systems in several counties — even as the state launches its controversial new semi-open primary system.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, issues began around 11:30 a.m. when state website firewalls mistakenly flagged communication between county computers and the voter registration system as unsafe, temporarily interrupting functionality in some counties.
Secretary of State spokeswoman Lindsey Bachman told Source New Mexico that the state’s “website firewalls incorrectly determined that traffic between some county computers and the website was unsafe” and blocked access, causing temporary disruptions to the same-day registration process.
Though Bachman said the underlying same-day registration systems technically remained operational, the communication breakdown prevented them from functioning normally in affected areas.
The issue was reportedly resolved by 1 p.m., with Bachman stating the office does “not expect any recurrence.”
Still, the outage raised fresh questions about election administration preparedness on the very first day of voting.
Sandoval County Deputy Clerk Joey Dominguez described the problem as a “hiccup,” while Roosevelt County Clerk Mandi Park said her county’s separate registration issue stemmed from what she called “user-error” after she forgot her password to the same-day registration application.
Both counties said only one voter sought same-day registration during the outages, and both individuals were allowed to cast provisional ballots.
The disruption comes as New Mexico debuts its new semi-open primary system — a major election change enacted through Senate Bill 16 last year — allowing “decline to state” and independent voters to cast ballots in either the Republican or Democratic primary without changing party registration.
The new law marks a significant departure from New Mexico’s traditional closed primary system and has already sparked political debate over how it could reshape turnout and candidate selection in future elections.
Bernalillo County Clerk Michelle Kavanaugh told Source New Mexico she expects the new system to increase participation, particularly among independents.
“We’ve had some time to prepare and we’re hoping to see a growth in the number of people voting in primaries,” Kavanaugh said outside the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Annex on Tuesday.
Still, early anecdotal numbers suggest turnout from independent voters remained modest on day one.
Kavanaugh said only a small handful of decline-to-state voters had cast ballots Tuesday morning in Bernalillo County, where roughly 27% of registered voters fall into that category.
Statewide, approximately 26% of New Mexico’s 1.4 million registered voters are listed as independent or decline-to-state, making them a potentially significant new force in primary elections under the revised law.
Meanwhile, election observer groups are dramatically expanding their presence this cycle.
Carmen López, co-leader of Observe New Mexico Elections, told Source New Mexico the organization plans to deploy election observers in all 33 counties for the first time during the 2026 primary.
“In 2024, we only attempted to observe in three or four counties,” López said.
The group says its observers will monitor poll worker training, machine testing, vote certification, and other election procedures in an effort to improve transparency and public confidence.
For the November general election, the organization hopes to field as many as 300 observers statewide.
Tuesday’s technical issues may prove minor if they do not recur — but they nonetheless provided an inauspicious opening to a primary cycle already being closely watched due to the implementation of New Mexico’s new semi-open primary structure.
Expanded early voting locations will open May 16 and remain available through May 30, ahead of Election Day on June 2.
For now, New Mexico’s 2026 primary is underway — though not without early complications.