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Election administration encompasses a state's voting policies, procedures, and enforcement. These include voter identification requirements, early and absentee/mail-in voting provisions, voter list maintenance methods, and more. Each state's voting policies dictate who can vote and under what conditions.
Below, you will find details on the following election administration topics in Nebraska:
In Nebraska, all polling locations are open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Time and 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Nebraska is divided between Central and Mountain time zones.[2]
To register to vote in Nebraska, each applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the Nebraska county in which they are registering, and at least 18 years old by the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Citizens are eligible to register to vote on January 1 of the year they will turn 18 before the November general election. People convicted of a felony are ineligible to register to vote until two years after the terms of their sentence have been completed, and individuals who have been declared mentally incompetent by a court are ineligible to register to vote.[3][4] A voter registration application can be completed in person at the county clerk or election commissioner's office, the Department of Motor Vehicles, or other state agencies. In-person registration must be completed by the third Friday preceding the election if completed at the DMV or other state agencies. In-person registration at county election offices must be completed by 6 p.m. on the second Friday before the election. Applications returned by mail must be postmarked by the third Friday before the election.[5] Online applications must be submitted by midnight on the third Friday before the election.[6]
Nebraska does not practice automatic voter registration.[7]
Nebraska has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. The Nebraska State Senate enacted legislation allowing online voter registration in 2014, and the system was implemented in 2015.[8]
Nebraska does not allow same-day voter registration.[7]
In Nebraska, citizens can register to vote the day they become residents of the state.[5]
Nebraska does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, "any registrant who signs this application knowing that any of the information in the application is false shall be guilty of a Class IV felony under section 32-1502 of the statutes of Nebraska. The penalty for a Class IV felony is up to two years imprisonment and twelve months post-release supervision, a fine of up to $10,000.00, or both."[9]
The Voter View site, run by the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.
Nebraska permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
As of February 2024, 47 states and the District of Columbia permitted no-excuse early voting.
The state of Nebraska refers to its no-excuse absentee/mail-in voting option as early voting. All voters are eligible to vote absentee/mail-in in Nebraska. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee/by-mail.[10]
The last day to request an absentee ballot to be mailed is if the close of business on the second Friday preceding the election. A returned absentee ballot must then be received by election officials by 8 p.m. (CST) on Election Day.[10]
Absentee/mail-in ballots in Nebraska can be returned by mail, in person, or by an agent designated by the voter. Ballots must arrive at an election office by the time the polls close on election day in order to be counted.[10]
Absentee/mail-in ballots in Nebraska include a return envelope printed with an oath that must be signed by the voter. Unsigned ballots will not be counted. Nebraska does not have a cure provision, or a law allowing voters an opportunity to correct an issue with the signature on their absentee ballot.[11]
Nebraska voters can use the Absentee Ballot Search tool provided by the Nebraska Secretary of State to check the status of their absentee/mail-in ballot.
Nebraska requires voters to present identification while voting.
Initiative 432, approved by Nebraska voters in November 2022, amended Article I of the state constitution to require voters to present valid photo identification in order to vote. Governor Jim Pillen (R) signed Legislative Bill 514 into law on June 1, 2023, in order to implement this policy change. Due to this legislation, Nebraska's voter ID requirement went into effect on April 1, 2024, in time for the state's 2024 primary.[12][13]
As of April 2024, 35 states required voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day. Of these states, 24 required voters to present identification containing a photograph, and 11 accepted other forms of identification. The remaining 16 states did not require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day.
Valid forms of identification differ by state. In certain states that require voters to provide identification, there may be exceptions that allow some voters to cast a ballot without providing an ID. To see more about these exceptions, see details by state. Commonly accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.
Eligible voters who do not have ID while voting may cast provisional ballots. See below for provisional ballot rules.
Voters in Nebraska are given provisional ballots, or ballots requiring additional steps or information before they can be counted, under the following circumstances.[14]
(1) If the voter’s name "does not appear on the list of registered voters at the polling place for the precinct in which he or she resides," the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot.
(2) If the voter’s "name appears on the precinct list of registered voters at the polling place for the precinct in which he or she resides at a different residence address," the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot.
(3) If the voter’s "name appears with a notation that he or she received a ballot for early voting," the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot.
(4) If the voter’s "name appears on the precinct list of registered voters for the polling place with a notation that the voter is required to present identification pursuant to section 32-318.01 but fails to present identification," the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot
A provisional ballot is accepted in the following circumstances:[15]
A provisional ballot is rejected in the following circumstances:[15]
Visit Nebraska’s Provisional Ballot Search tool to check the status of your provisional ballot.
Do you need information about elections in your area? Are you looking for your local election official? Click here to visit the U.S. Vote Foundation and use their election official lookup tool. |
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Nebraska, a top-two primary system is used for the nonpartisan legislature and some other statewide races. All other primaries are semi-closed.[7]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
In Nebraska, employers must grant employee requests for paid time off to vote, which, when combined with a non-work period, amounts to two hours. Employers may specify when employees take time off:
“ | Any registered voter who does not have two consecutive hours in the period between the time of the opening and closing of the polls during which he or she is not required to be present at work for an employer shall be entitled on election day to be absent from employment for such a period of time as will in addition to his or her nonworking time total two consecutive hours between the time of the opening and closing of the polls. If the registered voter applies for such leave of absence prior to or on election day, the registered voter shall not be liable for any penalty and no deduction shall be made from his or her salary or wages on account of such absence. The employer may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent.[16][17] | ” |
As of September 2024, 28 states required employers to grant employees time off to vote. Within these 28 states, policies varied as to whether that time off must be paid and how much notice must be given.
As of October 16, 2024, people convicted of a felony in Nebraska regained the right to vote after the completion of their sentence, including prison time, parole, and probation.[18] Click here for more information.
Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[7]
All states have rules under which they maintain voter rolls—or, check and remove certain names from their lists of registered voters. Most states are subject to the parameters set by The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).[19] The NVRA requires states to make efforts to remove deceased individuals and individuals who have become ineligible due to a change of address. It prohibits removing registrants from voter lists within 90 days of a federal election due to change of address unless a registrant has requested to be removed, or from removing people from voter lists solely because they have not voted. The NVRA says that states may remove names from their registration lists under certain other circumstances and that their methods for removing names must be uniform and nondiscriminatory.[20]
Nebraska law authorizes election officials to remove the names of voters from the registered voting list if an individual:[21]
Nebraska law requires the Secretary of State’s office and county election officials to conduct voter registration maintenance programs biennially, using National Change of Address data and other address and registration verification resources. If an individual is determined to have moved, county election officials are to send them a forwardable confirmation notice. Election officials are to remove the voter from the registration list if they fail to respond and do not vote in the following two federal general elections. In addition, if county election officials receive mail returned from a voter as undeliverable during a biennial mailing to all registered voters, a forwardable confirmation is to be sent. Election officials are to remove the voter from the registration list if they fail to respond and do not vote in the following two federal general elections.[22]
According to its website, ERIC is a nonprofit corporation that is governed by a board of member-states. These member states submit voter registration and motor vehicle registration information to ERIC. ERIC uses this information, as well as Social Security death records and other sources, to provide member states with reports showing voters who have moved within their state, moved out of their state, died, have duplicate registrations in their state, or are potentially eligible to vote but are not yet registered. ERIC's website describes its funding as follows: "Members fund ERIC. New members pay a one-time membership fee of $25,000, which is reserved for technology upgrades and other unanticipated expenses. Members also pay annual dues. Annual dues cover operating costs and are based, in part, on the citizen voting age population in each state."[23]
By 2022, 33 states and the District of Columbia had joined ERIC. As of May 2024, 24 states and the District of Columbia were members in the ERIC program.[24]
As of August 2023, Nebraska was not participating in the ERIC program.
Nebraska state law does not require post-election audits. However, the secretary of state can choose to conduct an audit. The secretary must randomly select a minimum of 2 percent of precincts and audit one federal race, one statewide race, and one local race. Discrepancies are detailed in a report given to the secretary of state’s office.[25]
Post-election audits check that election results tallied by a state's voting system match results from paper records, such as paper ballots filled out by voters or the paper records produced by electronic voting machines. Post-election audits are classified into two categories: audits of election results—which include traditional post-election audits as well as risk-limiting audits—and procedural audits.[26][27]
Typically, traditional post-election audits are done by recounting a portion of ballots, either electronically or by hand, and comparing the results to those produced by the state's voting system. In contrast, risk-limiting audits use statistical methods to compare a random sample of votes cast to election results instead of reviewing every ballot. The scope of procedural audits varies by state, but they typically include a systematic review of voting equipment, performance of the voting system, vote totals, duties of election officials and workers, ballot chain of custody, and more.
As of October 2024, 49 states and the District of Columbia had some form of post-election audit by law. Of these, 35 states and the District of Columbia required traditional post-election audits, while six states required risk-limiting post-election audits by law. Eight states used some other form of post-election audit, including procedural post-election audits.[28][29]
Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measures relating to election and campaign policy in Nebraska.
The table below lists bills related to election administration that have been introduced during (or carried over to) the current legislative session in Nebraska. The following information is included for each bill:
Bills are organized alphabetically, first by state and then by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job.
Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. But that's just the beginning of what it can do:
The Ballot Bulletin is a weekly email that delivers the latest updates on election policy. The Ballot Bulletin tracks developments in election policy around the country, including legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news. Each email contains in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker. You'll also be able to track relevant legislation, with links to and summaries of the bills themselves.
Click here to view recent issues and subscribe.
In order to get on the ballot in Nebraska, a candidate for state or federal office must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level. A candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election.
There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a candidate for office in a state.
This article outlines the steps that prospective candidates for state-level and congressional office must take in order to run for office in Nebraska. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, click here. Information about filing requirements for local-level offices is not available in this article (contact state election agencies for information about local candidate filing processes).
The Nebraska Legislature is the only state legislature in the United States that operates as a unicameral body. Consequently, the legislature is often referred to as "the unicameral" or "the uni" by state residents (see "State legislature" below for more information). It is also the only legislature that specifically requires candidates to run on nonpartisan ballots.
Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. Each of Nebraska's three United States Representatives and 49 state legislators are elected from political divisions called districts. United States Senators are not elected by districts, but by the states at large. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. The federal government stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.[30][31][32][33]
Nebraska was apportioned 3 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census.
In Nebraska, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. A simple majority is required to approve a redistricting plan, which is subject to veto by the governor.[34]
The Nebraska Constitution requires that state legislative districts "be contiguous and compact, and they keep to county boundaries 'whenever practicable.'"[34][35]
On April 8, 2011, the state legislature approved the following redistricting guidelines:[34]
The legislature is entitled to amend these guidelines at its discretion.[34]
Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in Nebraska can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Nebraska Election Officials
Nebraska Secretary of State, Elections Division
Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
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