Campaign Connection 2026

Campaign Connection 2026 is the home for Nebraska Public Media News coverage of the 2026 elections.

Campaign Connection provides you with the resources to inform your decisions. You'll find on this page our election-related stories, as well as links to national media coverage, podcasts and political party blogs.

Follow Campaign Connection 2026 from Nebraska Public Media News across television, radio, social media and our website. We'll deliver the information you need to make responsible voting decisions.

Nebraska 2026 election FAQ

You can register to vote online here. You can also register in person at your county election office or through the DMV when applying or renewing your driver’s license. You can print out a registration form here and return it to the Nebraska Department of Education or the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. A personal agent may return the application to the appropriate county election office, or a voter registration application can be completed with a deputy registrar (someone approved by the county election office to register people to vote). More information can be found here.

The in-person registration deadline for the May 12 primary election is May 1. Mail-in voter registrations must be postmarked by April 27. For the Nov. 3 general election, the last day for in-person registration is Oct. 23. The postmark deadline for mail-in registrations is Oct. 16. More information here.

Check your voter registration information here. You can also change your address, party affiliation and your name.

You can apply for an early-voting ballot by contacting your county election office by mail or by fax. You can print and complete an online early voting application here. More information here.

Voters have until the polls close at 8 p.m. CT, 7 p.m. MT on election day to return their early voting ballots. People can vote early in their county election office in person from April 13 to May 11 for the primary election and from Oct. 5 through Nov. 2 for the general election.

On June 1, 2023, the governor signed into law LB514, which established voter identification (ID) requirements for elections in Nebraska. The first election requiring voter ID was the May 14, 2024, statewide primary election. More information here.

You can find your polling place online here.

You can learn about all the candidates and see who's filed here.

2026 election calendar

Jan. 5: First day a person may file for office to have his or her name placed on the ballot as a candidate for the 2026 election cycle.

Jan. 12: First day to accept early voting ballot requests for the primary election.

Jan. 15: Last day for a new political party to submit petitions with the Secretary of State to qualify for the upcoming primary election.

Feb. 13: Deadline for Secretary of State to determine if sufficient signatures were submitted to form a new party.

Feb. 17: Last day for incumbents (any current office holder) to file for office on the primary election ballot.

Feb. 24: Deadline to file an objection to an incumbent candidate filing.

March 2: Last day for non-incumbents (new filers) to file for office for the primary election.

Last day for a candidate, whose filing deadlines are Feb. 17 or March 2, to withdraw his or her name and decline to be a candidate.

March 9: Deadline to file an objection to a non-incumbent candidate filing.

March 20: Last day for Secretary of State to certify candidates, offices and issues to be placed on the statewide ballot.

March 27: Deadline to have early voting ballots ready and sent to UOCAVA voters with requests on file.

April 3: Deadline for county clerks and election commissioners using secure drop boxes to open each drop-box, which shall remain accessible to voters until the deadline for receipt of ballots.

Deadline to have early voting ballots ready for delivery by mail, and publication of application required after ballots are available. This requirement does not pertain to elections held entirely by mail.

April 13: First day for in-person early voting at the county clerk or election commissioner office.

April 27: Last day a county election office canto mail an early voting ballot with a mail-in registration application form to a person who has requested an early voting ballot but is not registered to vote.

April 28: Last day to accept a mail-in voter registration with an illegible postmark.

May 1: Final voter registration deadline for the May primary. Last day to register to vote in person at a county election office.

Last day to receive an application for early voting ballots to be mailed out to a specific address.

Last day to submit a request for a replacement ballot to be mailed.

First day the Early Voting Counting Board can convene to check envelopes with signatures and prepare ballots for counting.

May 11: Last day for in-person early voting at the county clerk or election commissioner office.

First day the Early Voting Counting Board may convene to begin counting early voting ballots.

May 12: Statewide Primary Election Day.

8 a.m. CT: Polls open.

Noon CT: Deadline for a registered voter serving as an emergency response provider outside of the voter's county to request a ballot.

7 p.m. CT: Deadline for personal agent to pick up early voting ballot.

8 p.m. CT: Polls close.

Deadline for a voter to return their early voting ballot, whether that’s at a county election office, via personal agent or at a secure ballot drop-box.

Deadline for return of voter registration form with an early voting ballot.

Deadline for obtaining a replacement ballot in person.

The first time any returns or partial returns may be released.

May 19: Deadline to present valid photographic identification to the election commissioner or county clerk by a voter without a reasonable impediment who failed to present valid photographic identification at the time of voting.

May 21: Deadline for verification and notification to the state system of ballot status for provisional ballots and provisional voter identification verification ballots.

June 1: Abstract of votes due in the office of the Secretary of State.

Last day a notice can be filed with a person whose election is being contested.

June 8: Board of State Canvassers meets to certify the election results.

June 11: Primary Election Voter History must be completed.