New Mexico’s June 2 primary will be held under new semi-open primary rules, allowing registered independents and unaffiliated voters to participate without first choosing a party.

Lawmakers passed the change in 2024. Previously, those voters had to select a party in order to cast a primary ballot.

Bernalillo County Clerk Michelle Kavanaugh said the change will allow more than 330,000 people to vote in the primary.

“We all hope that it's going to really open floodgates and that all the independents who didn't participate before will choose to vote in the primary now,” Kavanaugh said.

Kavanaugh said independent voters and those who decline to state a party preference make up at least 22% of New Mexico’s electorate. She said primary elections determine 80% of all elected seats because of uncompetitive districts and elections.

Still, turnout in the 2024 primary was less than 20%.

Ahead of the midterms, President Donald Trump’s approval rating recently hit a second-term record low. Even before that, he had floated the idea of canceling November’s elections, though the White House later said he was kidding.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research and one of the nation’s leading elections experts, said voters should not worry about a federal general election being canceled.

“We have never canceled or postponed a federal general election in American history, and I'm confident it won't happen,” Becker said. “Even if the president is worried, even if the president says he wants to, it's not going to happen.”

In New Mexico, Democrats currently hold the governor’s office and control both chambers of the state legislature, but Republicans have maintained competitive margins in recent years. The state has reliably voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 2008, including in 2024.

Source: Public News Service