A headline out of New Mexico reads, “Nearly 80% of independent voters selected democratic party ballot for New Mexico primary.” But what the story missed was “why,” and it may have nothing to do with party leanings.
It may be because in a majority of races, the Democratic primary is the only contest that matters —especially in elections where there is no one else on the ballot.
During early voting for the June 2 primary, only about 3% of registered independent voters cast a ballot. The number is low, but it also represents several voters who could not participate under the previous closed primary system.
The New Mexico Legislature passed a law in 2025 that implemented a semi-open primary. Under the new rules, registered party members have to vote in their party’s primary. Independent voters can choose any party ballot they want.
The new system replaced a closed partisan primary process that barred independents entirely.
“For the first time in New Mexico, unaffiliated voters can participate in the primaries,” said Brian Sanderoff, a political expert for KAOT 7 News. “And so, it is going to take a while for these registered independents or unaffiliated voters to get accustomed to voting in primaries.”
KOTA reports that 77% of independents who have voted selected a Democratic ballot versus 23% who selected a Republican ballot. But there is a reason for this that seldom gets discussed in traditional media outlets.
Specifically, many of these citizens are choosing the primary that will allow them to have the most consequential vote. No doubt there are many independent voters who lean toward one party or the other, but this decision runs deeper.
In New Mexico, Democrats hold 44 of the 70 seats in the state House (62%), and all of these seats are up this year. Democrats also hold 26 seats in the state Senate to the 16 Republicans hold, all 3 congressional seats, and both US Senate seats.
So, is it really a surprise most independent voters would choose a Democratic ballot? Especially since so many races go uncontested.
In 2026, 37 New Mexico House districts will have candidates from only one major party. That is 37 out of 70 (52%). Twenty-two (22) are districts where only Democrats are running.
These seats are not only safe for the Democratic nominee, but they are outright decided on June 2.
The districts are: 5, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 24, 34, 35, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 52, 65, 69, 70. The districts in which only Republicans are running are: 1, 2, 3, 49, 51, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66.
Now, imagine being an independent voter in one of these districts. Prior to 2026, they had absolutely no say in their representation. Many of these voters are used to that so it will take some time for adjustment.
Let Us Vote New Mexico has run an ongoing campaign designed to mobilize decline-to-state and independent voters before the primary. It is built around videos and direct outreach from unaffiliated New Mexicans speaking to other unaffiliated voters.
The videos are running on CTV, YouTube, and Hulu.
"We wanted to reach out to independents across the state to make sure they know they have a new primary voting right," said Cathy Stewart, national organizing director for Open Primaries.
"There has been a lack of clear public communication. As early voting began last month, it was still the case that many county clerk websites had not been updated to reflect the new primary voting rules."
Let Us Vote New Mexico is a campaign of Open Primaries, which aided the 2025 legislative push along with other national organizations like Unite America. The group also backed litigation in 2018 challenging the state’s closed primary system.
Calls to open New Mexico’s primary elections went back decades, but it wasn’t until 2015 that an organized effort to make it happen took off with New Mexico Open Elections, and reform leaders like Bob Perls, who started NMOE.
“This didn’t happen overnight,” said Stewart. “It took a decade of organizing, advocacy, and legal action driven by independent voters who refused to accept being shut out.”
And because of these efforts, June 2 marks the first time independent voters do not need to sacrifice their preferred affiliation, nor do they need party permission to cast a ballot in the taxpayer-funded elections that matter most.
They get a voice, and they are using that voice where they know it will count.