McKinley County to open two secure absentee ballot drop boxes May 5

Two permanent, secure absentee ballot drop boxes will open in McKinley County on May 5, giving voters in Gallup and Zuni around-the-clock places to return ballots without waiting in line or depending on the mail.

One box will be at the McKinley County Clerk’s Office, 207 West Hill Avenue in Gallup. The other will be at the Zuni Tribal Building, 1202 State Highway 53 in Zuni. County officials say both boxes will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a practical change in a county where long drives, work schedules, weather and transportation barriers can make ballot return harder than it should be.

The new boxes should matter most to rural voters and Navajo voters who have had to choose between making a trip to town, finding time during office hours or trusting the postal system. With the June 2 primary approaching and the general election set for Nov. 3, the timing gives voters a local return option just ahead of the busiest stretch of the election year. Eligible voters who already have ballots in hand will be able to use the boxes as a more dependable drop-off point, while election officials gain a countywide tool that may help reduce missed deadlines and late-mail problems.

The McKinley County clerk’s office oversees the Bureau of Elections, and state rules treat ballot drop boxes as security-sensitive containers rather than simple mail slots. New Mexico’s secured-container procedures require a chain-of-custody log when ballots are retrieved, and secretary of state guidance says absentee ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be accepted and counted. Voters with questions about absentee voting or how to use the boxes can call the Bureau of Elections at (505) 722-4469.

The change also fits New Mexico’s broader absentee system, which allows eligible voters to sign up for the permanent absentee list and automatically receive an absentee ballot for each statewide election. For McKinley County, the two boxes will add a permanent return option in both Gallup and Zuni, where ballot access can determine whether a vote arrives on time or too late to count.