Early voting in New Mexico’s general election began Tuesday, and library funding is one of the issues on the ballot.

There are three bond questions on this year’s ballot.

Bond Question 2 allows the issuance of library acquisition bonds, up to $19.2 million to make capital expenditures for academic, public school, tribal and public libraries.

“The libraries across the state have faced budget cuts, just as a national attrition,” said David Cox, director of New Mexico Tech’s Skeen Library. “They’ve either been flat, which is also a cut, or less. Academic libraries are no different in that we run the best we can with what we have.”

Bond money is used for infrastructure improvements, and in past years the Skeen Library has used bond funds to replace aging computers and improve study spaces.

The library would like to use the new money to help upgrade the Tripp Room, which is a meeting room the community can use.

Bond money is essential to library budgets, said Cox, including the Tech library budget.

“What we do with the GO Bond money is to enhance infrastructure. Some libraries actually are paying for their subscriptions through the GO bond money because it’s gotten to that point.”

The bond money would also pay for an electronic subscription service to ensure all academic libraries in the state have access to a set of text databases.

There are two other bond questions on the ballot. Bond Question 1 allows the issuance and sale of senior citizen facility improvement, construction and equipment acquisition bonds, providing up to $24.4 million.

Bond Question 3 allows the issuance and sale of higher education, special schools and tribal schools capital improvement and acquisition bonds, up to $215.9 million.

Same-day voter registration is available during early voting and Election Day. Voters can request absentee ballots at nmvote.org or from their county clerk until Nov. 3.

Early voting runs through Nov. 5. Election Day is Nov. 8, with polling locations open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.