ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – New Mexicans are heading to the polls in historic numbers for this election and there are a number of hotly contested races across the state and for president. While a majority of people voted early and absentee because of COVID-19, thousands of people have already hit the polls Tuesday.

Bernalillo County Clerk Linda Stover says more than 275,000 absentee and early votes already in the county is at a 62% voter turnout as of Tuesday morning. In 2016, only 40% of voters even showed up to vote.

Over in Nob Hill, there was no line Tuesday morning at Jefferson Middle School and voters could walk right in to cast their vote and were done with the whole process in less than 30 minutes. At Washington Middle School near downtown Albuquerque, there was also no wait and volunteers say it’s been a slow day.

At the Annex downtown, there was already a line of voters when the polls opened at 7 a.m. Voters say the wait wasn’t too bad and didn’t experience any issues and tell KRQE News 13 that no one has an excuse not to vote Tuesday.

“I just think it’s important to vote for what you want. If you want to see changes, then do your best to be part of that change,” said Jaya Martinez.

So far, the Secretary of State’s Office says over 800,000 New Mexican voters have already cast ballots and that includes in-person and absentee voting.

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