Early voting for the 2026 New Mexico Primary Election begins Tuesday, May 5.

Residents can vote at county clerks’ offices until May 16, at which point more early voting locations open.

The Primary Election is on June 2.

Key races in New Mexico Primary Election?

Several state races have a crowded primary field including Democrat candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, governor and the state Legislature. Local races in Doña Ana and Otero County for sheriff and the Board of County Commissioners.

Who can vote in New Mexico Primary Election?

New Mexico has semi-open primary elections, which means voters who are not registered with a qualified political party may participate in the election by selecting which major party’s ballot they want to vote on without changing their voter registration.

Voters who have not registered with a qualified party can participate by selecting a major party’s ballot and vote.

Registration status, voting locations and sample ballots can be viewed at the New Mexico Secretary of State website.

Where to vote in Doña Ana County

Early voting at the Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 N Motel Blvd., Las Cruces, will begin from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. Monday through Friday on May 5 until May 29, and from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 30.

Alternate site early voting locations will begin at 11 a.m. on May 16 and run through May 30 from Tuesday through Saturday.

The alternate site locations in Doña Ana County are:• Anthony Library (750 Landers Road, Anthony)• HVPS Student Services (350 Main Street, Hatch)• Doña Ana County Community College (755 Prescott Anthony Drive, Chapparal)• Doña Ana County Community College (800 Sonoma Ranch Blvd., Las Cruces)• Doña Ana County Community College (3365 McNutt Road, Sunland Park)• Las Cruces City Hall (700 N. Main Street, Las Cruces)• Mesilla Town Hall (2231 Avenida de Mesilla, Mesilla)• Corbett Center Student Union (1600 International Mall, Las Cruces)

Same day registration will be available at the Doña Ana County Government Center during early voting and all absentee ballots may be returned to the County Clerk’s Office or any Election Day polling location no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.

More: New Mexico primary elections: Who is running for state House?

Where to vote in Otero County

Early voting at the Otero County Clerk’s sub-office, 1101 New York Avenue, Room 101, will begin from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m., Monday through Friday on May 5 until May 29, and from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 30.

Alternate site early voting locations will be staggered beginning on May 16 at 11 a.m. and run through May 30.

The alternate site locations in Otero County are:10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 16 through May 30Otero County Fairgrounds (401 Fairgrounds Road, Alamogordo)

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., May 27 through May 29Inn of The Mountain Gods (287 Carrizo Canyon Road, Mescalero)

8:00 am to 5:00 p.m., May 28 through May 30 Chaparral Far South Fire Station (827 Luna Street, Chaparral)

Josh’s Monday Night Forecast

Cloudier skies have moved into New Mexico today along with warmer temperatures. A few spotty to isolated showers have also developed this afternoon across western parts of New Mexico. Overnight, upper level moisture will increase across the region. This will bring more scattered to widespread shower and storm chances starting Tuesday.

Showers, storms and high elevation snowfall will move throughout much of the region with southeast New Mexico remaining quiet through Wednesday. Drier air moves in statewide by Thursday. This will bring fewer rain chances through the end of the week along with warming temperatures into the weekend.

The state judge overseeing New Mexico’s attempt to force a safety overhaul of Instagram and Facebook said Monday that he’s worried some of the proposed changes would amount to “overreach.”

New Mexico attorney general Raúl Torrez is pushing for extensive changes and up to $3.7 billion in penalties after a state jury ruled last month that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta had failed to protect kids from sexual predators. Judge Bryan Biedscheid is presiding over a second trial to determine which of those requested remedies are appropriate.

“I am a judge, ​I am not a legislator, I am not a regulator,” Biedscheid said as the second phase began on Monday.

Biedscheid added that his goal was to ensure any court-ordered fixes would address the proven harms of Instagram and Facebook without him becoming a “one-person legislature.”

The judge will rule on whether Meta’s failings constitute a “public nuisance” under state law, which would allow him to order remedies. The jury previously ordered Meta to pay $375 million in damages.

“The changes we’re seeking are reasonable, achievable, and supported by child safety and technology experts,” Torrez said in a statement ahead of the trial. “There is no credible argument against them, only a company that has decided its bottom line matters more than the safety of kids.”

As The Post reported, Meta has already threatened to cut off access to Instagram and Faceook entirely if the judge orders “impractical” safety features to be implemented. The social media giant claims Torrez’s “requests for relief are so broad and so burdensome” that no one could realistically comply with them.

Torrez fired back, asserting that Meta’s threats were little more than a PR stunt and that the company was “showing the world how little it cares about child safety.”

New Mexico’s proposed fixes include implementing an effective age verification process for accounts; recommendation algorithms that prioritize user safety over boosting how much time they spend on the apps; and limits on end-to-end encrypted messaging for minors.

State officials also want Meta to display warning labels about the risks of using its apps and an independent oversight committee to ensure the company’s compliance. Meta “would be held to a 99% detection rate for new child sexual abuse material,” according to the state.

A Meta spokesperson said the state’s demands are “technically impractical, impossible for any company to meet and disregard the realities of the internet.”

Experts previously told the Post that Meta’s threat to cut off the apps entirely, while technically feasible, would make the situation even messier for the company.

“I think a blackout in one state would be comically easy to circumvent – for example, with a VPN,” Ryan Calo, a professor at the University of Washington focused on the intersection of law and technology, said last week. “Who is responsible when, invariably, New Mexico residents continue to access Facebook? And of course, they would still have to pay for prior behavior in the state.”

WIth Post wires