Long lines characterize voting during final hours of Election Day in Las Cruces

There were dozens of people in line to vote at the Doña Ana County Government Center in Las Cruces at about 4 p.m. At 4:45, a long line of people waiting to vote snaked through the second-floor hallways at Thomas Branigan Memorial Library. Some people saw that line and opted to instead drive to nearby Sierra Middle School to vote, and the line there at 5:10 was out the door.

And at Desert Hills Elementary School, where the line was out the door when I visited just before 9 a.m., it was more than twice as long just after 5 p.m., with dozens of people standing outside waiting to vote.

With the real possibility of people being deterred by long lines, poll watchers with Common Cause New Mexico were keeping updated on wait times at other polling places and suggesting some people head to nearby locations with shorter waits.

Anyone in line when the polls close at 7 p.m. is allowed to vote. You can check estimated wait times at polling places throughout Doña Ana County by clicking here. While many polling places have long waits, there are many others with short waits, or no wait at all.

Turnout has picked up as the day has progressed, rather than slowing down — and the post-work rush appears to be sizable.

At 4:30 p.m., the Secretary of State’s Office said 50,629 people had voted in Doña Ana County. Some 51 percent of them were Democrats, 31 percent were Republicans, and 18 percent were independents, Libertarians or members of minor parties.

Moments before that, Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin said in an interview that it’s possible the county is headed for higher turnout than during the 2016 presidential election, when about 71,000 people voted.

“We’re headed there,” she said. “We remain hopeful, especially because you have the after-work people voting.”

She said that right before I witnessed the rush begin.

This article has been updated with numbers from the Secretary of State’s Office.