Mail-in voting begins for Nebraska’s primary election

Nebraska’s elections will carry on as they always have, despite a recent executive order from President Donald Trump. This comes as county election offices are starting to send out early voting ballots ahead of Nebraska’s primary election.

About 94,000 ballots were mailed out across Nebraska on Monday, the Secretary of State's office said, and another 16,000 will be mailed out in the next two days. More than 66,000 are headed to Douglas County, where Omaha is, and 32,000 are headed to the Lincoln area in Lancaster County.

Secretary of State Bob Evnen recently addressed the state’s handling of the upcoming primary election after President Trump issued an executive order that restricts mail-in voting and creates a national list of voters. Evnen said the primaries will be handled by state officials in accordance with past procedures. But he did not guarantee the same for the mid-term election in November.

Trump’s executive order requires states to tell the U.S. Postal Service that they will accept mail-in or absentee ballots at least 90 days before a federal election. Each state would then submit a list to USPS of its eligible voters who will be receiving mail-in or absentee ballots. The order also requires mail-in ballots to have tracking codes. Non-compliant states will lose federal funding under the order.

“We are expecting a smooth election process this year considering the highly successful rollout of Nebraska’s voter ID law in 2024,” Evnen said in a Monday news release. “Nebraskans are prepared to cast their votes and county election officials do a very effective job working with voters to ensure that our elections run properly. I have every confidence in their ability to do their jobs well.”

At least 23 states and Washington, D.C., have joined a lawsuit in Massachusetts challenging this order, calling it unconstitutional. Under the Constitution, only states and Congress have authority over elections.