Nebraska holds in-person primary election amid coronavirus - Los Angeles Times
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Nebraska holds first in-person primary election in weeks amid pandemic

An election worker in Lincoln, Neb.
Nadette Cheney picks up a box of printed ballots as others work on preparing mail-in ballots at the Lancaster County Election Committee offices in Lincoln, Neb.
(Nati Harnik / Associated Press)
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Nebraska on Tuesday will hold the nation’s first in-person primary since a heavily criticized election in Wisconsin five weeks ago in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Election officials have repeatedly urged voters to cast early, mail-in ballots, but Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts and Secretary of State Bob Evnen both pledged to forge ahead with an in-person primary even though many other states have rescheduled theirs or switched to all-mail voting.

On Monday, Ricketts said members of the Nebraska National Guard would be on call to help short-staffed polling sites in eight counties, including the Omaha and Lincoln areas. He said Guard members would be dressed in civilian clothes, not their normal uniforms.

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“They’ll be available to help out,” he said.

A Guard spokesman said 135 members had gone through poll-worker training but would not be dispatched unless requested. The counties that might have Guard members as poll workers are some of Nebraska’s hardest-hit: Dakota, Dawson, Douglas Hall, Lancaster, Lincoln, Madison and Scottsbluff.

Ricketts said he had also waived a state law that requires poll workers to live in the county where they serve, largely because of a poll worker shortage.

The presidential primary calendar is in flux as officials try to balance public health with a need to continue the electoral process.

May 6, 2020

This year’s primary is fairly low-key but will include a high-profile race among Democrats who want to unseat Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. The Omaha-area district is one of the few in Republican-led Nebraska where Democrats are competitive.

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The Democratic field has three candidates: nonprofit consultant Kara Eastman, Omaha lawyer Ann Ashford and Omaha business owner Gladys Harrison. Eastman has positioned herself as a progressive, while Ashford pitches herself as a moderate. Harrison has touted herself as a unifying voice but hasn’t raised nearly as much money or gotten as much attention.

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