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Making your voice heard: Bernalillo County Clerk's Office holds voter registration event
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Mateo Garcia hasn鈥檛 voted in nearly two years. He was discouraged when he tried to vote in the 2022 midterms and was told he could not because of an issue with his voting registration.
鈥淚 was registered in Rio Arriba County and I tried registering (in Bernalillo County), and they told me I had to go back to (Rio Arriba County) and cancel my registration and then come back and register here,鈥� he explained. 鈥淭he whole process really scared me off from voting.鈥�
Garcia said he got the itch to vote again but didn鈥檛 know where or how to go about completing the registration process. His grandmother then told him about a voter registration event taking place outside of Bernalillo County鈥檚 offices at Alvarado Square on Tuesday 鈥� National Voter Registration Day.
He attended and was able to complete his registration in roughly five minutes.
鈥淭he process was quick and very easy,鈥� he said.
He was one of dozens who stopped by to either register to vote or update voting registration ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Bernalillo County Clerk Linda Stover said it鈥檚 important for all people to know voting status so they can participate.
鈥淵ou can do it online, you can come into (the County Clerk鈥檚) office and register, and we even have same-day registration at polling locations,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no reason for people not to be registered to vote. We make it accessible.鈥�
One person who took advantage of the outreach effort was Olivia Amaya Ortiz. She was walking in the area when she saw the event and decided to stop by and check on her voting registration status.
鈥淚 think for a lot of us, our lives get busy,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd to have a quick way to check my registration at events like this are great of the community.鈥�
Patrick Baca, who heard about the event on the radio, decided to walk up from his nearby home. He echoed Ortiz鈥檚 point on the importance of the community having access to voting registration and information.
鈥淭here should be more people involved in voting because it makes a big difference in our country,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I hope people get out and vote.鈥�
Tuesday鈥檚 event also doubled as an opportunity to learn how to become a poll or election worker for the county.
鈥淲e need your help,鈥� Stover said. 鈥淲e have citizen-run elections, meaning the County Clerk鈥檚 Office puts it together, and our poll workers are important to us.鈥�
Photos from the Bernalillo County's National Voter Registration Day event
