Conducting a Voter Registration Drive in New Mexico

Training Requirement: A Third-Party Voter Registration Agent training course must be completed before conducting a registration drive. Training is offered by the county clerks and the Secretary of State. The state’s manual for third party registration agents is here: bit.ly/nmvoterregagents

The Secretary of State’s video for Voter Registration Agents is here: sos.nm.gov/voting-and-elections/

Notification and Registration Requirements: Civic organizations, employees, or volunteers conducting voter registration drives must register with the New Mexico Secretary of State (SOS) and submit a Voter Registration Agent Identification Form, which includes all of the following:

• The names of officers of the organization and the name, telephone number, and permanent address of the organization;
• The names, permanent addresses, temporary addresses, if any, social security number, and dates of birth of each person registering persons to vote in New Mexico on behalf of the organization;
• A sworn statement from each registration agent employed by or volunteering for the organization stating that the agent will obey all state laws and rules regarding the registration of voters on a form that gives notice of the criminal penalties for false registration.

The form may be delivered by mail or fax to the Secretary of State or the county clerk.

All Voter Registration Agents (VRAs) will be issued a personal VRA number by the Secretary of State’s office. The third party agent must carry and display a copy of the VRA Identification Form as proof of their credentials when assisting applicants with registering to vote.

Compensation Restrictions: Do not pay registration drive participants based on how many registrations they collect. Do not offer an applicant any incentive of monetary value to register to vote.

State Form: A registered agent will receive a packet of 20 forms and may request, in person, another packet from the Secretary of State or county clerk. State forms include a receipt which must be given to voters upon their completion of the form.

If the Voter Registration Agent (VRA) provided substantial assistance to the registration applicant, then the VRA should put their name and VRA number in Item 10. VRAs must also record their VRA number in the receipt at the bottom of the registration form.

Logging Requirements: Finally, talk to the county clerk’s office about their requirements for tracking and logging state voter registration forms. A link to a blank log page is available here: sos.nm.gov/voting-and-elections/voter-informationportal-nmvote-org/third-party-voter-registration-agents

It includes the unique identification number associated with each form, whether the registrant or the third party voter registration agent took possession of the form upon completion by the registrant, and, if the third party voter registration agent took possession of the form upon completion by the registrant, the date the form was completed by the registrant. Completed logs must be produced when requesting additional blank voter registration forms from election officials.

Federal Form: Voter registration organizations may use the federal voter registration form: eac.gov/voters/national-mail-voter-registration-form/

Photocopying Blank Forms: Blank state forms may not be copied, but rather must be obtained as originals from election officials.