SANTA FE, N.M. — Independent voters in New Mexico will be able to participate in the state’s primary elections in 2026 without first joining a major political party — and one reform group is launching a statewide campaign to make sure they know it.

Let Us Vote New Mexico announced what it calls an “independent-to-independent” voter education and Get Out The Vote campaign aimed at mobilizing decline-to-state and independent voters ahead of the June 2 primary. 

The campaign will be built around videos and direct outreach from unaffiliated New Mexicans speaking to other unaffiliated voters.

“New Mexico independents are organizing and ready to chart a new political path for our state, one that serves the people not the politicians,” said Krista Pietsch, a Let Us Vote New Mexico state leader from Albuquerque.

The 2026 election cycle marks the first time New Mexico will use its new semi-open primary system. The change took effect July 1, 2025, after the legislature passed a bill that reform advocates had pushed for years. 

Under the new rules, voters who are not registered with a qualified political party (i.e. independent and decline-to-state voters) may select a major party primary ballot without changing their voter registration. Voters registered with a major party must still vote in their respective party’s primary. 

A Decade-Long Fight Comes to the Ballot Box

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 (NMOE), and reform activists like Bob Perls, who started NMOE.

The organization did not have much funding, and its board was composed entirely of volunteers. Still, it sponsored multiple attempts to give a quarter of the electorate registered independent equal access to taxpayer-funded elections. 

Opening the Door: How New Mexico Reformed Its Primary Elections and What Others Can Learn

More than 330,000 independent voters will have access to state-administered primary elections in future New Mexico elections after the legislature passed SB 16 in March to end the state’s use of closed primaries.

Independent Voter NewsShawn Griffiths

Each attempt saw new progress and finally, 10 years later, a semi-open primary bill broke through and was signed into law. In its efforts, NMOE focused its messaging on 2 things: 

1. If elections are publicly funded, all voters should be allowed to participate. 
2. Excluding independent voters undermines the legitimacy of elections and fuels political disengagement.

Let Us Vote New Mexico is a campaign of Open Primaries. The group says it helped organize independent voters during the 2025 legislative push that led to the new law. Open Primaries also backed litigation in 2018 challenging the state’s closed primary system.

“This didn’t happen overnight,” said Cathy Stewart, national organizing director for Open Primaries. “It took a decade of organizing, advocacy, and legal action driven by independent voters who refused to accept being shut out.”

Now, independent voters do not have to join a party to vote.

The reform does not create a fully open primary. Registered Democrats and Republicans cannot vote in another party’s primary, and independent voters can only choose from candidates of a single party (on whichever party’s ballot they select).

However, for primary reform advocates, the change ensures every voter has a right to participate in elections that ultimately decide most contests in the state.

“This is our election – we pay for it,” said Tania Triolo, a Let Us Vote New Mexico state leader from Los Ranchos de Albuquerque. “The parties have been acting like it’s their private property, but now it’s clear the primaries belong to all voters.”

Jonathan Saunders, a Let Us Vote New Mexico state leader from Dilia, said the campaign is designed for voters who deliberately chose not to affiliate with a party:

“I walked away from the parties because they don’t listen to regular people anymore. “I’m not going back just to play by their rules.”

Independents Are a Growing Force in New Mexico

The most noticeable shift among voters both nationally and in New Mexico is toward independence, which makes the new semi-open primary law and Let Us Vote New Mexico’s campaign critical.

According to voter registration data from the New Mexico secretary of state, 371,380 voters were registered “No Party/Declined to Select” as of March 31, representing 26.2% of the electorate. Democrats made up 40.5%, Republicans 31.3%, and other voters 2%.

A Source NM analysis found that decline-to-state registration has steadily increased since December 2024, while Democratic and Republican registration shares have slightly declined.

And, since the new law, 80% of new voters have registered as independents.

Jeremy Gruber, senior vice president of Open Primaries, said those numbers point to a broader political shift.

“This isn’t a trend – it’s a rejection,” he said. “Voters are walking away from a broken two-party system that doesn’t represent them.”

Campaign Message: You Don’t Have to Pick a Party

Let Us Vote New Mexico says its campaign will focus on clear voter education, digital outreach, and grassroots organizing. Its core message is that independent voters do not have to join a party to have a say in a public primary election.

The group is also trying to reach voters who may not know the rules have changed. Under the new system, unaffiliated voters can select a major party ballot in person or through the absentee process, and the party ballot they choose is public information. 

Their actual votes remain private.

“For too long, independents were told to sit out or sign up,” Gruber said. “Now when independents show up, they won’t just participate – they’ll reshape the conversation. That’s exactly what this campaign is about.”