Local Government
Town of Silver City
Silver Schools
Cobre Consolidated School District
Santa Clara
Bayard
Hurley
Gila Valley Library
Cliff School
Voting
2026 General Election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Deadline to register to vote online at www.nmvote.gov or by paper form: Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Same-day registration is available at polling sites for early voting and election day.
Last day to request an absentee ballot is Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Request online at www.nmvote.gov or in person at Grant County Clerk’s office.
Early voting begins at Grant County Clerk’s office on Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Early voting beings at Bayard Community Center on Saturday, October 17, 2026
Important dates and locations listed on the Clerk’s website: https://grantcountynm.gov/218/Elections
Grant County Clerk’s Office
1400 Highway 180 East
Silver City, NM 88061
575-574-0042
Register to vote, update your registration, search for your registration information, view sample ballots, check deadlines, and more at www.nmvote.gov
More registration and voting tools
New Mexico Secretary of State: www.sos.state.nm.us/
More helpful links gathered by the NM State Library: https://libguides.nmstatelibrary.org/votingNM/home
Vote411.org nation-wide tool for voter preparation: vote411.org
View a map of the five county commissioner districts on the County Commission page here: https://grantcountynm.gov/DocumentCenter/View/971/Map-of-all-5-Districts?bidId=
View or download a map of the town council districts here.
To learn what school board position you are eligible to vote for, look up your voter registration at www.nmvote.gov . This is also the easiest way to see what position of the Grant County Soil and Water Conservation District you are eligible to vote for. You can view your sample ballot at the same place.
Federal Voting Assistance Program for military and overseas citizens: https://www.fvap.gov/ Additional tips for overseas voters: https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/
About Candidates
- The Ballotpedia New Mexico page is at ballotpedia.org/New_Mexico . Browse their NM info or search for candidates in the box at the top.
- The Albuquerque Journal sends questionnaires to candidates for state offices every election cycle. This includes candidates for state senator and state representative, and statewide offices like attorney general. They publish the answers on their website in articles whose titles follow the pattern “Q&A: [office] candidate [name]”. You can get unlimited access to the Albuquerque Journal using Newsbank. Go to El Portal at elportalnm.org and click on Newsbank near the bottom of the page.
- The New Mexico legislature site is www.nmlegis.gov . View the records of legislators currently in office, and examine bills.
- For information on the judicial retention questions on the 2026 General Election ballot, visit the New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission at nmjpec.org/en/
- For information on the NM Constitutional Amendments on the 2026 General Election ballot, go to this page from the NM Legislature and click on “2026 August.”
- Project Vote Smart: votesmart.org
- The Congressional comprehensive website made by the Library of Congress is www.congress.gov
- GovTrack for tracking bills through Congress and viewing representatives’ voting records: visit www.govtrack.us/
Campaign Finance and Lobbying
To learn about campaign financing, identify donors, and learn about lobbying:
- Federal Election Commission campaign finance reports and data can be found at www.fec.gov/data
- Lobbying disclosure for the United States Congress is at lda.gov/system/public/
- Search for campaign contributions, lobbyists, politicians, PACs, and more at www.opensecrets.org
Policies and regulations
Follow the Grant County Prospectors, whose annual legislative forums highlight regional needs for the state senators and representatives:
Check out Congressional Research Service Reports (members of Congress use these to help make legislative decisions). Another source for these reports is the UNT digital library . More Congressional research sources are listed in this guide from the University of Washington.
Taxes
More printed copies of 2025 New Mexico tax forms are arriving soon. Federal 1040 forms and instructions are available (updated 2/25/2026).
The 2026 AARP free tax assistance program is happening. AARP Tax-Aide volunteers will prepare and file federal and state tax returns. There are no age or income restrictions, and you do not need to be a member of AARP. At the library information desk we have a list of paperwork to bring, and an intake form to complete before your appointment.
Appointments are available in Silver City for Mondays and Tuesdays. To make an appointment call 575-342-8990. There are also some appointments on Fridays; for a Friday appointment call 575-567-3915.
Appointments are available in Bayard for Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. To make an appointment in Bayard call 575-232-5800.
Information about the 2026 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) at Western New Mexico University may be forthcoming.
You can download tax forms here: https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions
New Mexico tax forms can be found here: https://www.tax.newmexico.gov/forms-publications/
Consider filing your federal taxes online at https://www.irs.gov/filing . For income below $72,000, you can use their Free File offer, available here: https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free . Go to https://tap.state.nm.us/tap/_/ for New Mexico online tax filing. The United Way offers free tax filing with expert assistance at myfreetaxes.com.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization within the IRS that helps with tax problems: https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/
The Wheels for Wishes nonprofit organization has created a calculator to estimate the size of tax deductions you may be able to claim for charitable donations: https://www.wheelsforwishes.org/tax-savings-donation-calculator/
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