Absentee Voting, Rural Voting, Military Voting, And Voting Options For People With Disabilities

The Chronicles Of Grant County

The image was provided courtesy of Gerd Altmann through Pixabay.

All American citizens eligible to vote are encouraged to do so by Grant County. To accommodate special needs, accommodations are made if you live in a rural area of Grant County, are in active duty in the United States military, serving in a disaster zone as an emergency response provider, have a disability, or will be unable to vote in person.

According to a document from the Grant County Clerk's Office, "All registered voters in the following rural locations will receive ballots by mail automatically unless they opt out: Sapillo (Precinct 3 & 4), Red Rock (Precinct 6), Hachita (Precinct 31), [and] Mule Creek (Precinct 35)."

If you are unable to vote in person or choose to not vote in person, you can request to vote by Absentee Ballot.

"Voters may request an absentee ballot application by mail, telephone, in person, or online at NMVote.org," according to the document from the Grant County Clerk's Office. "Ballots must be returned to the county clerk's office or voting convenience center before 7:00 PM on Election Day (November 8) to be counted."

The Grant County Clerk's Office is located at the Grant County Administration Building at 1400 Highway 180 East in Silver City.

Voting Convenience Centers in Grant County are located at:

Bayard Community Center
209 Hurley Avenue
Bayard

Grant County Administration Building
1400 Highway 180 East
Silver City

Grant County Fairgrounds Exhibit Building
16 Arena Rd.
Cliff

San Lorenzo Elementary School
2655 Highway 35
San Lorenzo

Silver City Woman's Club
411 Silver Heights Boulevard
Silver City

The last day to request an Absentee Ballot is November 3, 2022.

Individuals who are actively serving in the U S military are able to vote regardless of where they stationed in the world.

In addition to military personnel that may be stationed outside of New Mexico, emergency response providers currently positioned outside of New Mexico may also request and receive a ballot to vote.

According to a statement from the Office of the Secretary of State of New Mexico, "an 'emergency response provider' is a resident of New Mexico who otherwise satisfies this state's voter eligibility requirements and who, in response to an emergency, is temporarily assigned by a governmental or nongovernmental relief agency or employer to provide support to the victims of the emergency or to rebuild the infrastructure in the affected area and the assignment is for a period beginning on or after the thirty-five days immediately prior to an election, the affected area is outside the individual's county of residence, [and] the President of the United States or the governor of a state has declared an emergency in the affected area."

More information on voting options available for active duty military personnel and emergency response providers currently serving our country's needs outside of New Mexico is available by clicking here.

People with disabilities are able to vote in a variety of ways that provide accommodations for their specific situations.

"All polling locations are equipped with accessible voting equipment that is equipped for special accommodations for hearing, visual, physical, and other disabilities," according to a statement from the Office of the Secretary of State of New Mexico. "Accessible voting equipment provides the opportunity to independently vote a ballot in complete privacy. This terminal marks the voter's selections on paper that becomes their ballot. Voters can select their choices using a touch screen, headphones, and other types of equipment available to assist voters in making their selections. The completed ballot is then fed into a tabulator, which scans and records the votes."

The Office of the Secretary of State also noted that "in New Mexico, blind and visually impaired voters may also request an electronically fillable ballot to vote from the privacy of their own homes via an absentee ballot."

If you have any questions about voting in Grant County, please contact the Grant County Clerk's Office at 575-574-0042.

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Contact Richard McDonough at chroniclesofgrantcounty@mail.com.

If your email does not go through, please contact editor@grantcountybeat.com.