Taos United - Social & Political Activists For a Fair & Just Democracy

Can the Postal Service be trusted to deliver your absentee ballot in time to be counted? ▾

If you vote absentee, your mail ballot must be RECEIVED by 7 pm November 3, 2026 in the Taos County Clerk’s Office. Voting early and hand delivering your absentee ballot to secure drop-boxes, polling locations or to the County Clerk’s office are the best ways to be certain your vote is counted. Unfortunately, USPS delivery times have slowed dramatically in rural areas over the last ten years. Our mail now goes first to one of several sorting/distribution centers like Albuquerque to be processed and then must return to Taos before final delivery. Cuts in postal staff can further delay the process which is why it is hard to predict how long it will take for ballots you mail to make it to the County Clerk’s Office. Fill out your absentee ballot and return it as early as possible! (see Calendar for times the polling locations are open) • Oct 6-Nov 3: Drop off your completed ballot at the Taos County Courthouse in the Drop Box, polling location or inside the County Clerk’s office. • Oct 17-Nov 3: You can also drop off your ballot at any polling location or drop-box in the county • A family member or caretaker can sign the back of the envelope and drop it off for you. • If mail is your only option, mail as early as possible preferably by Oct 20, to be sure your ballot gets delivered by 7pm Nov 3. DON’T FALL FOR THE FAKES NMVOTE.ORG is the safest, most complete site for New Mexicans to find information about registration, voting, the elections and your ballot. You can register to vote, check your registration, request an absentee ballot, get polling locations and the dates and times polls are open during early voting (Oct 6-31) and on Election Day (Nov 3). Beware of fake websites that promise to check your registration, to register you to vote or provide election information. Many of these fake sites exist to steal your personal information and track your electronic data. Elon Musk is a major culprit in this disinformation campaign to mislead voters and steal their personal information. Source: Judd Legum

Voter Registration Marked INACTIVE? Don’t Panic. You Can Still Vote in the 2026 Election. ▾

If your voter registration is marked “inactive” you can still vote. When you cast your vote, the inactive status will revert to ACTIVE. Recently, some Taos County residents were surprised to see their registration status marked as “Inactive “due to: “Confirmation Mailing". The Santa Fe County Clerk explained that this occurs when the USPS reports "undeliverable mail" at a voter's mailing address either because a mailing address is incorrect (due to a move or a flawed database used for the mailing) or the voter simply fails to respond to a mailing sent from the Secretary of State to confirm their mailing address. This scenario requires county clerks to mark voters as "inactive", but it does not affect the voter’s ability to vote in this election. Source: NM SoS However, if your mailing address is incorrect, it could happen again. To prevent that, simply reregister online at nmvote.gov or at Clerk's office with your correct address before Oct. 6 or after you vote. And be sure to always read and respond to mailings from the Secretary of State or County Clerk.

Can National Guard Troops or ICE officers be deployed to polling locations ▾

Protecting the safety, security, and freedom of every voter is the Secretary of State’s highest priority. Unless deemed necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States, federal law prohibits the stationing of troops at polling locations. Anyone who orders, brings, keep any troops or armed men at polling locations shall be fined or imprisoned not more than five years, or both; and be disqualified from holding any office of honor, profit, or trust under the United States. As of May 2026, the State of New Mexico adopted these federal prohibitions in state statute. It is a fourth-degree felony for someone to order the placement of troops or armed men at polling locations unless such force is necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States. The Attorney General, the Secretary of State, a County Clerk, or a voter may choose to bring a civil action in district court to enforce this state law. It is also against the law in New Mexico to: Intimidate voters or election officials by threatening or attempting to induce fear for the purpose of impeding or preventing the free exercise of the elective franchise or the impartial administration of the election or Election Code; Obstruct access to a polling location; Disturb the polling location by creating any disorder or disruption at the polling place. Prior to and during each election, the Secretary of State actively coordinates with county election officials, law enforcement partners, and state agencies to ensure all election security laws are followed and that every eligible voter can cast a ballot safely and without disruption. Source: NM SoS

Can a U.S. President cancel an election? ▾

Pursuant to the U.S. Constitution and federal law, the President does not have the authority to cancel elections, and the election of members to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate is required to take place in even-numbered years. Only the U.S. Congress has the power to pass a law that would change the timing of a federal election, and the new law would have to survive legal challenges. There is currently no indication that Congress will change the election’s timing this year. This country has held federal elections during the aftermath of terrorist attacks, a civil war, both world wars and multiple pandemics. Election officials have ensured that elections have taken place in the wake of devastating hurricanes and other natural disasters. Never once has a federal election been cancelled. As we have always done, the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office and New Mexico’s County Clerks are already planning and preparing for this year’s elections, to ensure their security and accessibility for every eligible voter in this state. – Source: NM SoS

How are voter rolls maintained to ensure election integrity? ▾

New Mexico has some of the cleanest voter rolls in the nation and our SOS’s office goes above and beyond legal requirements to maintain voter list integrity. To learn more about the processes used, go here: -- Source: NM SoS (use https://www.sos.nm.gov/voting-and-elections/rumor-vs-reality/ as the link.

Could someone change election results? ▾

We have a variety of safeguards in New Mexico that ensure the accuracy of election results. Most notably, we conduct mandatory post-election audits after every election (these double-check that all the counts were correct) and use 100% paper ballots in every election (this ensures there’s always physical ballots that can be recounted/examined if need be). Source: NM SoS We also conduct pre-election certification of all voting systems/machines. Source: SOS

Are independent, post-election audits performed in New Mexico to ensure the accuracy of election results? ▾

Yes. There are two main ways the accuracy of election results are ensured here in New Mexico with audits: Following an election, the election results are canvassed or audited so that accuracy is ensured. Canvassing first happens at the county level where county staff review the results. Then, another canvass is completed by a new team of staff at the Secretary of State’s Office. Finally, the results that have already been reviewed at the county and state level are audited by an independent contractor before they are forwarded to the New Mexico Board of Canvass to be made official. New Mexico conducts a risk-limiting audit following every statewide election. This process involves randomly selecting races and precincts throughout the state and hand counting the results in those precincts. The hand counted results are then compared to the normal machine counted results to ensure accuracy. Any discrepancies between the results are thoroughly investigated. The results of every independent post-election audit that’s been conducted in New Mexico since 2004 are downloadable from our website. -- Source: NM SoS

Are New Mexico’s voting machines certified? ▾

Yes. New Mexico’s election administrators are in compliance with all state and federal laws regarding voting machine certification Source: NM SoS

Are New Mexico’s vote counting machines ever connected to the Internet ▾

No. New Mexico utilizes air-gapped counting systems, which means that our vote tabulators are prevented by law and process from being joined to a computer network or the Internet. It has become a popular point of disinformation to suggest that New Mexico’s vote tabulators are compromised because they are connected to the Internet. Our air-gapped counting systems ensure that vote tabulators are never connected to the Internet. Why is this important? Air-gapping is a best practice in election administration that helps prevent hacking of voter data and/or election results. The physical separation of systems ensured by air-gapping makes it much more difficult for any bad actor to try and penetrate those systems. Because hackers could try and use other means to manipulate votes, we also have further safeguards in place to ensure the integrity of our votes. Perhaps the most important one that pairs with air-gapping is our use of paper ballots. Every election in New Mexico uses one-hundred percent paper ballots. Using all paper ballots in every election allows for auditing and verification of automated vote counting systems because there is always a paper trail. That means that even if by some means a nefarious actor was able to penetrate one of our systems, we always have a physical backup of paper ballots that can be referred to in order to achieve the accurate result. -- Source: NM SoS

How is voter data protected? Who can access it? ▾

The protection of voter data is a top priority for New Mexico’s election administrators. Multiple levels of security safeguards are in place by state and county administrators to ensure voter data is not compromised by malicious actors. By state law, certain groups can obtain limited publicly-available voter data by filling out a required affidavit and paying a set fee. Even when this voter data is obtained, however, county clerks or the Secretary of State’s Office cannot provide data that includes voters’ social security numbers, identifying information about where a voter registered, a voter’s day/month of birth, or a voter’s telephone number if prohibited by that voter. Through this limited publicly-available voter data, it is possible to tell a voter’s party affiliation (or lack thereof) and if that voter voted in a particular election, but a voter’s specific ballot choices always remain secret (even to election administrators). For more information about New Mexico’s voter data request procedures, visit our website which includes the fee structure and the downloadable request/affidavit form. -- Source: NM SoS