SANTA FE – State records show the biggest increase in New Mexico voter registration is among residents who declined to state a party affiliation.
The Albuquerque Journal reports nearly 54 percent of those who registered to vote from March 2017 through August of this year registered without stating a party affiliation or did so with a different political party besides Democrats or Republicans.
That’s 23,380 of the 43,434 newly registered voters. The figure is more than the number of newly registered Democrats and Republicans combined.
Overall, about 22 percent of the state’s registered voters are now classified as declined-to-state voters, commonly referred to as independents.
Voter registration for the coming general election closes on Oct. 9. Election Day is Nov. 6.