LWVLA Explains New Mexico's Semi-Open Primary Rules for June 2026

For the first time in state history, more than 330,000 New Mexicans registered as independent or Decline to State will step into their June 2 polling place and choose a party primary ballot without ever having changed their registration. In Los Alamos County, where a few hundred votes can determine who wins a nomination for county council or state legislature, that is not a procedural footnote. It is a structural change to who decides who appears on the November ballot.

The League of Women Voters of Los Alamos published a voter guidance release on April 6, 2026, laying out the mechanics of the new semi-open system and what each voter category must do before June 2. The local chapter framed its outreach explicitly around preventing accidental disenfranchisement: under the old closed-primary rules, independent and DTS voters who arrived at the polls without first re-registering were handed a provisional ballot or turned away from major-party races entirely.

How the New Law Changed the Rules

The change traces to Senate Bill 16, passed during the 2025 New Mexico Legislative Session and signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. New Mexico became only the second state in the country to implement open primaries through the legislature rather than through ballot initiative. The bill cleared the House 36-33, a margin that reflects how contested the expansion was. Its core effect: DTS and independent voters may now participate in a major-party primary without registering with that party beforehand.

The law preserved party primaries entirely. New Mexico recognizes exactly four political parties for primary election purposes: Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, and Green. Voters registered with one of those four parties vote in their own party's primary. The expansion applies to everyone outside those four designations.

Who Can Pull Which Ballot

Your current registration status determines everything. Here is how each voter category functions under the new rules:

- Registered Democrat or Republican: Vote in your own party's primary. No action is needed before June 2. If you want to switch parties, the deadline to do so through standard registration is May 5. You cannot use same-day registration (SDR) to change party affiliation.

- Registered Libertarian or Green: You vote in your own party's recognized primary. If you are registered with a qualified minor party such as Libertarian or Green, you may use Same Day Registration to affiliate with a major party, or to register as Decline to State.

- Registered as DTS, independent, or any unlisted party name: A person who listed any other party name, did not specify a party, or wrote Declined to State (DTS) is considered to be DTS for the purpose of the primary election. Those considered as DTS can participate in primary elections without having to change their voter registration. They may request either a Republican or a Democratic ballot at the polls.

The LWVLA guidance makes clear that the DTS designation is broader than many voters realize: anyone who wrote a party name the state does not recognize, left the party field blank, or wrote "Declined to State" on their registration form falls into this category.

Absentee and Mail Ballot Process for DTS Voters

In-person participation is straightforward for DTS voters: walk in, request a Democratic or Republican ballot, vote. Absentee voting requires one additional step. DTS voters who want to vote absentee can request a mailed ballot at NMVote.org after April 7, 2026, but no later than May 19. They will be asked to select a Democratic or Republican ballot at that time.

Voters who prefer a paper process can pick up an absentee ballot application directly from the County Clerk in the Municipal Building. After April 7, 2026, permanent absentee voters who are DTS may select the ballot of their choice at the Secretary of State's primary portal. The deadline for making that request is also May 19.

The Registration Deadlines You Cannot Miss

Online and in-office registration closes four weeks before Election Day. For the June 2 primary, that falls on or around May 5, which is also the final day to change a party affiliation through regular registration. Voters registered as Republican or Democratic can change their registration on May 5 or earlier. They cannot use SDR to switch parties. After May 5, the only registration tool still available is same-day registration at the polls, and same-day voter registration is available to those who are not registered, as well as to voters registered with a minor party who wish to register with one of the two major parties and vote.

Voters should confirm their exact registration status at NMVote.org well before early voting opens. A voter who believes they are registered DTS but whose record actually shows a recognized party affiliation will face different options at the polls than they expect.

What the Change Means for Los Alamos Contests

Los Alamos County consistently records some of the highest voter-participation rates in New Mexico relative to its population, a pattern driven in part by the county's concentration of advanced-degree professionals tied to Los Alamos National Laboratory. Civic engagement here runs deep, but until now, over 330,000 independent and DTS voters, representing 25 percent of the electorate, were effectively locked out of participating in publicly funded primary elections without first re-registering.

In tightly contested local races, the newly eligible DTS pool matters substantially. Los Alamos County is small enough that nominations for county council seats, school board positions, or state House districts have previously been settled by margins that a single precinct could reverse. Opening those primaries to DTS voters without requiring advance re-registration expands the participating electorate in ways that campaigns and candidates are only beginning to model.

The LWVLA's outreach is a direct acknowledgment that the confusion risk is real. Misunderstandings about which registration status qualifies as DTS, how to request a party ballot by mail, and what the May 5 and May 19 deadlines each govern could result in eligible voters being turned away or receiving the wrong ballot. Verifying your registration at NMVote.org before either deadline is the single most consequential step any Los Alamos voter can take before June 2.