Voter eligibility Mexican citizens over 18 are eligible to vote in all Mexican elections. To carry the ballot, the citizen should first request a
Voter Credential (), a plastic card issued by the
National Electoral Institute (, INE) of the
federal government. To receive a voter credential, citizens need: • Proof of either their birth in Mexico or their naturalization. • Some form of photo ID. • Proof of residence.
Electoral system Mexico is a
federal republic. The electoral system is regulated by the
Constitution of Mexico and the constitutions of the 32 federative entities. These constitutions
separate powers into three branches:
executive,
legislative, and
judicial. The heads of the executive and all members of the legislature are open to election by the citizens. Officials of the judiciary were previously not open to election until the approval of the
2024 Mexican judicial reform. The first judicial elections will be held in
2025. The heads of government executive bodies are commonly
directly elected by popular vote for a six-year term. Terms of elected executives are non-renewable, and seeking to be reelected is forbidden by the Constitution. The executive election is held through voting on a single
plurality ballot for the candidate, and the winner is decided by
first-past-the-post voting. The members of the legislatures are commonly
directly elected by popular vote for a three-year (
federal and
local deputies) or a six-year (
senators) term. There are usually term limits placed on legislative members (12 years at the federal level, not eligible for immediate re-election starting in 2030). All legislative elections have
mixed electoral systems. The votes are counted toward candidates and
political parties through one-ballot
mixed single or two-ballot
parallel voting. The winners are decided by a hybrid across
first-past-the-post voting (
single-member district),
party-list proportional representation, and/or
mixed-member proportional representation.
Political parties Mexico has a
multi-party system with three dominant
political parties. Before 2000, Mexico had a
system of one-party dominance under the
Institutional Revolutionary Party and some smaller opposition parties. Alliances and coalitions are common. Usually, they are local (state) affairs and involve one of the big three and any number of minor parties, though, on extraordinary occasions, two of the big three will ally themselves against the third (e.g., the
2003 Colima state election or the
2004 Chihuahua state election).
Indigenous communities Article 2 of the
Constitution of Mexico provides for the self-government of indigenous communities according to their "traditional customs" (). This has resulted in several indigenous communities in Mexico maintaining local systems, notably those of
Cherán and areas under
Councils of Good Government control. == Federal elections ==