• Douglas County
• Sarpy County
• Lancaster County
• All other counties

Note: If you live in Douglas, Sarpy, Cass, or Lancaster counties, you likely received a vote by mail application from them, too, in addition to the vote by mail application sent out by the Secretary of State (and potentially, in addition to any vote by mail application you requested on your own). To get your ballot, you only have to send in one vote by mail application. As long as you’ve sent one in, you’re good.

Q: What if I don’t have a printer? 

If you can’t find someone to help you print off the vote by mail application, call the election official in your county and they will send you an application in the mail. You can find the list of statewide election officials by county here: https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/election-officials-contact-information

Q: How do I return my ballot after I fill it out at home?

Your ballot will include a return envelope. Put the ballot in the envelope, seal it, sign it, and put a stamp on it. The envelope must be sealed and signed by the voter and, if assistance was provided, by the person providing assistance. The return envelope containing the ballot may be mailed back to the county election office. There will also be ballot drop boxes available in every county. If you don’t know where yours are, contact your county election official. One really exciting thing about this primary is that the Secretary of State and the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) is purchasing and installing ballot drop boxes for every county. That way, voters can return completed ballots to the dropbox if they choose not to return their ballot by mail. Postage is not included for vote by mail ballots, so if you aren’t able to find a stamp, using a dropbox is a great idea.

Q: Who is allowed to vote by mail? 

In Nebraska, any voter may request a vote by mail ballot. Period.

Q: Is “vote by mail” the same thing as “early voting”?

Yes. “Vote by mail,” “vote at home,”  “early voting,” and  “absentee ballot” all refer to the same thing in Nebraska.

Q: Isn’t this a lot of stuff to be mailing out? What if I don’t have stamps?

To be clear, these are the two things you have to send to your county election official:

• Your application to vote by mail
• Your completed ballot

Q: Will I still be able to vote in person?

Look, right now, the plan is to allow in-person voting in Nebraska. The Secretary of State and his experienced elections team have thought this through and put many precautions in place to protect pollworkers and voters who choose to vote in person.

I have never voted by mail myself—I always vote in person because I love getting the sticker, I love taking the ballot selfie, and I love the excitement of being at the polls on Election Day. But this year, I’ll be casting my vote from home. Many of our loyal, hardworking pollworkers in Nebraska are in vulnerable populations, at a critical risk for contracting the virus. Even if you are not symptomatic, you could be carrying the virus and could unknowingly spread it if you leave home to go to a polling place. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the responsible thing for every Nebraskan to do is to vote by mail from home. And I’ll add one other thing: We’re very fortunate to have the privilege to vote this way in Nebraska! Many states have barriers to voting by mail, which drives down turnout. In Nebraska, we have to make sure that doesn’t happen, and that everyone who is eligible to vote gets the chance to do so this election. Research shows that the best way to do that is to vote by mail.

Q: How do I know that my ballot was counted?

The Secretary of State’s office has an online Voter Information Center to track the status of your ballot including when your ballot was sent, returned, and its status. Remember, the sooner you send your ballot back, the more peace of mind there is for you. And remember, the sooner you send your ballot back, the more peace of mind there is for you.