New Mexico
New Mexico same-day voter registrations surged in this election
New Mexico saw a record number of people in this election using same day registration. That made for some logistical challenges. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver told New Mexico in Focus. Producer Jeff Proctor why she supports offering this option and why it’s increasingly popular.
MAGGIE TOULOUSE OLIVER: Actually, we’re still trying to process those numbers. We know that towards the end of the day on election day, over 8,000 on election day alone. It was so many that it literally crashed our system. We were able to get the system back up, but by that point, county clerks and their teams were already so overwhelmed that they were unable to keep up, which is totally understandable. So we started registering folks on paper, which is definitely part of the process. It’s provided for in law and rule. But our county clerks are still going through those and processing them and adding them. So if I had to guess, I think we’re going to have over 10,000 election same-day registrations alone.
NMPBS: Do we have a sense of affiliation split on the same day registrations?
TOULOSE OLIVER: Well, during early voting, Republicans were definitely taking advantage more than Democrats, and we saw that actually the first time we ever implemented same-day registration the first election in 2022 and a lot of that came from, you know, the Southeastern part of the state, where we have folks that are coming and living here. They’re working in the oil fields, right? And they’re working in potash and all these areas. And so we do have people who, you know, they’re not home in Texas or Oklahoma or Kansas, they’re here. They’re working, so this is where they’re voting. And, you know, I’ll be interested to see the geographics once we have a chance to analyze of where everybody came from this time.
NMPBS: Me too, just as a concept, Maggie, why do you think same-day registration is important for the larger mosaic of our elections?
TOULOUSE OLIVER: Well, you know, I’m just am, and always have been, a huge believer in having the biggest participation possible. Because when people of all backgrounds, you know, ages, colors, economic backgrounds, come together and have their voice made registered at the polls, we elect leaders that look and feel more like us as a people, right? It’s more representative, you know, 28 days before an election, which is the “registration deadline,” is really arbitrary, and people, especially younger people, are people who haven’t participated before. They don’t necessarily know that, right? And so we just really need to provide that opportunity for folks to make sure they can still participate, even if their daily lives and what they know about the voting process didn’t align with meeting a particular arbitrary deadline.
NMPBS: What is your motivation to continue doing this work, particularly in this political climate.
TOULOUSE OLIVER: Yeah, thank you, Jeff. It’s really hard. It has been hard always. I mean, this is incredibly stressful, incredibly time-consuming work. I found my calling when I became county clerk of Bernalillo County. I can’t think of anything more meaningful that I could be doing than making sure that the wheels of democracy continue to turn. I’m a huge believer. Yes, I’m a member of the Democratic Party, but I always like to say I’m a small d democrat too, because I’m just a big believer in our democracy. I will tell you when I had to make a decision about whether or not to run again for reelection in 2022 after everything that happened in 2020 and particularly, you know, threats to my life, my family, you know, having to relocate for weeks on end, uou know, working with the FBI, things like that, I really did have to dig deep to decide if that is what I wanted to continue to do. And I just decided that this isn’t the time. Our democracy is, you know, is at risk right now. It remains to be seen what the fallout of this particular election is, although I suspect it’s going to be extremely different from 2020, but it just felt like this was not the time to abandon this work. I’ve got two more years left in my term. I intend to see those all the way through and then figure out what’s next for me.
You can see the full interview online.
SANTA FE, N.M. — Former New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner Jim Ellison is running for governor as a Republican, he announced on social media Tuesday.
Ellison is running on affordability, opportunity and trust in government as the key points of his campaign. His experience includes serving on the NMPRC in 2023 and 2024.
“New Mexico deserves leadership that listens, acts, and delivers results. Our state has enormous potential, but too often that potential is held back by policies that don’t serve everyday New Mexicans,” he said on his website. “I’m running to bring practical solutions, honest accountability, and a renewed focus on the public interest.”
A Georgia native, Ellison has lived in New Mexico for 20 years and currently lives in the Albuquerque area with his wife and two children.
Ellison is aiming to get 5,000 signatures by Feb. 2, to appear on the primary ballot with at least three other Republicans who have announced their candidacy.
Ultra Health CEO Duke Rodriguez announced his campaign in December and recently confirmed to KOB 4 that he received enough signatures to appear on the primary ballot. Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and New Mexico State Sen. Steve Lanier are also running.
Three Democrats are running – Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A successful University of New Mexico Lobo athletics season and the athletics director’s departure has culminated in players and coaches making moves.
The moves follow a successful 2025 season and the departure of athletics director Fernando Lovo.
Running back coach John Johnson, special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato and wide receiver coach Colin Lockett are all leaving the Lobos after just one season. Johnson is headed to Iowa State while Da Prato is expected to join Minnesota and Lockett is headed to UCLA, all for the same jobs.
Johnson’s Lobo running backs ran for more than 1,400 yards. Da Prato’s special teams finished top-five nationally in kickoff returns.
Running back D.J. McKinney entered the portal, he confirmed on social media the day the portal officially opened. McKinney rushed for 464 yards and seven touchdowns with the Lobos.
Two players who received all-Mountain West Conference recognition also made moves. All-Mountain West tight-end Dorian Thomas, who caught for touchdowns for the Lobos, entered the portal. Meanwhile, all-Mountain West honorable mention punter Daniel Hughes is set to leave.
Others set to leave include:
- Cole Welliver, backup quarterback who played in one game
- Landon Williams, defensive end who graduated from La Cueva High School
- Randolph Kpai, senior linebacker who is at the end of his college football career without a waiver
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