As early voting winds down in Nebraska and Election Day polling draws near, here are some tips to help voters make sure their votes count and to make the process smoother for them and their fellow Americans. People who requested early-voting ballots and still have them should return them ASAP. Remember to sign the back of the envelope where indicated. And use an official county election drop box, not the mail at this late date. “The U.S. Postal Service doesn’t recommend returning ballots via mail, since we’re less than a week out from Election Day,” said Jackie Ourada, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office. “Voters should not mail their ballots at this point. Voters are highly encouraged to return their early-voting ballot directly to their county election office or to their county election office’s secure drop box.”
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Douglas County and
Sarpy County have multiple drop boxes. Every county in Nebraska
has at least one . The deadline for returning early-voting ballots is the close of polls — 8 p.m. Central time or 7 p.m. Mountain time — on Election Day. But sooner is better for a couple of reasons. “I’m encouraging voters to return those this weekend, because all ballots returned this weekend or by Monday morning will be counted on Monday, by state law,” Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse said. “We don’t see the results of course, and those are the very first results released at 8 p.m. on election night.” Early-voting ballots returned Monday afternoon or on Election Day won’t be counted until days later. Those ballots will be verified and opened on Wednesday and Thursday after the election, and then counted on Friday, Nov. 8, Kruse said. “The reason we do that is because all of our resources on Election Day are for Election Day,” he said. “For our 207 polling places, our 2,400 election workers, and our voters of Douglas County.” Early in-person voting at county election offices ends Monday at the close of business. People cannot vote at the election office on Election Day. The Douglas County Election Commission office, 12220 West Center Road, will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday to try to accommodate the high demand for early in-person voting, and from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday. Wait times by Friday had already reached 3 hours and election officials expect they could stretch longer Saturday and Monday. People in line at closing time will still be able to vote. If you are going in person to vote early at the election office or on Election Day at the polls, bring a photo ID. For most people, that’s a Nebraska driver’s license or state ID card. A full list of acceptable forms of ID are on the
Nebraska Secretary of State’s website . “They have to bring the actual ID,” said Valerie Stoj, a Douglas County Election Commission spokesperson. It can’t be a photocopy of your ID or a photo of it on your phone. “And name and photo are what matters,” Stoj said. “The address can be outdated. The ID can be expired.” If you’re early voting or going to the polls, “please leave your electioneering items at home,” Kruse said. That includes such items as buttons, stickers, signs, clothing, hats or pens with the name, likeness, logo, or symbol of a candidate, political party, elected official or ballot measure. Nebraska law prohibits electioneering within 200 feet of polling places. Check your polling place information before going to the polls. The Douglas County Election Commission has a feature on its website,
Find Your Voting Information , where Douglas County voters can type in their address and ZIP code to see their polling place and a sample ballot specific to them. The Sarpy County Election Commission
website has a link to that information for Sarpy voters. The Nebraska Secretary of State’s
website has statewide polling place information. Voters can save themselves time and shorten lines for others at the polls by researching how to vote ahead of time. That’s especially true for voters in the City of Omaha, whose ballots are four pages long (two sheets front and back) because of multiple city special issues on top of several state ballot measures and candidate races. You can print your sample ballot, mark it up to your liking, take it to the polls and use it as a guide to complete your real ballot. On Election Day, polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central time, or 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mountain time. Bring photo ID. People in line at closing time will be allowed to vote. “There may still be some waits on peak times: first thing in the morning, lunchtime, and then after about four o’clock in the afternoon, when people are getting off work,” Kruse said. “If voters have the ability to go midmorning or midafternoon, historically those have been slower times.” If voters have any questions or problems with their ballots at the polling place, if for example they mismark it or think they got the wrong ballot, they should call the county election office — in Douglas County, that’s 402-444-8683 — before putting the ballot in the ballot box and while still at the polling place. “If there’s a problem, we can resolve it before they deposit it in there,” Stoj said. “But once it’s in the box, there’s nothing we can do.”
Photos: First day of early voting in Douglas County
People in line for the first day of early voting, waiting for the Douglas County Election to open in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. People in line for the first day of early voting, waiting for the Douglas County Election to open in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. People line up to get their ballots during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election Commission office in Omaha on Monday. People line up on the left to get their ballots while those on the right fill them out during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. People line up on the left to get their ballots while those on the right fill them out during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. People fill out their ballots during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Nancy Maly drops her ballot in a drop box during the first day of early voting Monday. “I just want to do my part,” she said. “I want to make sure my vote gets counted.” People in line for the first day of early voting, waiting for the Douglas County Election to open in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. A voter drops his ballot in a dropbox during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. People line for the first day of early voting, waiting for the Douglas County Election to open in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. People line up to get their ballots during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. People line up on the left to get their ballot while those on the right fill their ballots out during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Joe Hossley drops his ballot in a dropbox during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Douglas County Election employee Lynda Williams waits to greet voters during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Douglas County Election employee Lynda Williams greets a voter during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Douglas County Election employee Lynda Williams waits to greet voters during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. People line up to get their ballots during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. People line to get their ballots during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. A "Non-Partisan Douglas County Voter's Guide Statewide General Election" sits on a rack in the entrance during the first day of early voting at the Douglas County Election in Omaha on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
