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Douglas County Election Commissioner discusses voting in the primary as deadline looms
Danielle Jensen says there are important things to remember before you cast your ballot
OMAHA RIVERFRONT FROM OUR KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN SKYCAM NETWORK. WHILE WE ARE JUST ABOUT A WEEK OUT FROM THE NEBRASKA PRIMARY ELECTION, AND WE WANT TO GET YOU READY TO VOTE, JOINING US LIVE IN STUDIO IS DOUGLAS COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSIONER DANIELLE JENSEN. DANIELLE, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU. SO WE’RE ONE WEEK OUT. WHAT IS YOUR OFFICE LOOK LIKE AS FAR AS PREPARATIONS RIGHT NOW? WELL, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE WHAT’S CALLED OPENING BOARD. AND SO EVERYBODY WHO HAS MAILED IN THEIR BY MAIL BALLOTS WERE PREPARING TO OPEN THOSE AND STORE THEM AWAY UNTIL WE COUNT THEM ON ELECTION DAY. WE ALSO HAVE PEOPLE COMING INTO THE COMMISSION WHO WANT TO VOTE EARLY IN PERSON. SO WE’VE BEEN KIND OF BUSY WITH THAT, TOO. YEAH. AND IF YOU GOT A MAIL IN BALLOT, DEFINITELY NEED TO GET THOSE IN. WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO PEOPLE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR OFFICE GETS THEM ON TIME? SO WE ADVISE THEM TO USE ONE OF OUR 13 DROP BOXES ACROSS THE COUNTY. THOSE ARE OPEN 24 OVER SEVEN AND THEY HAVE CAMERAS ON THEM. THEY CAN DROP IT OFF AT ANY TIME. IF THEY WANT TO MAIL IT IN, THEY CAN, BUT THE POST OFFICE RECOMMENDS THAT YOU MAIL IT BY TOMORROW. MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE THAT $0.78 ON IT, BECAUSE YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE POSTAGE. IF YOU USE THE DROP BOX, IT’S FREE. AND IN EITHER CASE, JUST MAKE SURE YOU SIGN THAT BALLOT AND DON’T COMBINE BALLOTS LIKE DON’T PUT YOUR SPOUSE’S BALLOT IN THERE WITH YOURS. THEY EACH HAVE TO HAVE THEIR OWN ENVELOPE. GOTCHA. AND YOU KNOW, FOR PEOPLE PLANNING TO VOTE IN PERSON, HOW CAN PEOPLE CHECK THEIR POLLING LOCATION? SO THEY JUST NEED TO GO TO OUR WEBSITE, VOTE DOUGLAS COUNTY-NY.GOV. ON THE MAIN PAGE, THERE’S A GRAY BOX WHERE THEY WILL ENTER THEIR HOUSE ADDRESS AND ZIP CODE, AND THEN IT PULLS UP A LIST OF ADDRESSES. CLICK ON YOURS. IT WILL TELL YOU YOUR POLLING PLACE, SHOW A PICTURE OF IT AND GIVE YOU LINKS TO SAMPLE BALLOTS. GOTCHA, GOTCHA. AND WHEN IT COMES TO VOTER TURNOUT, WHAT IS YOUR OFFICE EXPECTING? WE’RE EXPECTING ABOUT 35% THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN AN UPTICK IN BY MAIL AND IN PERSON RIGHT NOW. I THINK FOUR YEARS AGO, THEY ESTIMATE ABOUT 30. SO YEAH, WE’RE THINKING 35%. WE HAVE HAD OVER 76,000 REQUESTS FOR BY MAIL, AND JUST UNDER 50% OF THOSE HAVE RETURNED THEM. VOTER ID. WHAT DO PEOPLE NEED TO BRING WITH THEM? SO A NEBRASKA DRIVER’S LICENSE OR STATE ID OR A U.S. PASSPORT OR GOOD TO BRING? ALSO, IF YOU HAVE AN ID FROM A NEBRASKA POLITICAL SUBDIVISION LIKE THE COUNTY OR A PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, YOU CAN USE THOSE. THERE’S A FULL LIST AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE OF THOSE AS WELL. JUST LAST EFFORT PITCH TO GET PEOPLE OUT TO THE POLLS. WHY SHOULD PEOPLE VOTE? I KNOW THE ANSWER IS OBVIOUS, BUT WE WANT TO HEAR IT FROM YOU. IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO VOTE. IF YOU LOOK BACK IN 2020, MIKE BOYLE AND ROGER GARCIA RAN FOR COUNTY BOARD RACE AND GARCIA LOST BY THREE VOTES. SO ESPECIALLY IN THESE LOCAL DOWN BALLOT RACES, IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO GET OUT AND VOTE AND TO EXPRESS YOUR YOUR DESIRES AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE AN IMPACT ON YOUR COMMUNITY. YOUR VOTE COULD BE THE ONE THAT ENDS UP MOVI
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Douglas County Election Commissioner discusses voting in the primary as deadline looms
Danielle Jensen says there are important things to remember before you cast your ballot
Nebraska’s primary election is next week. Are you ready? Douglas County Commissioner Danielle Jensen sat down with KETV Newswatch 7’s Quanecia Fraser to talk about what her office looks like as they prepare for an avalanche of votes. “Everybody who has mailed in their by-mail ballots, we are preparing to open those and store them away until we count them on election day”, Jensen said. She adds that people who want to vote early have been coming into the Commission office in person. Jensen wants to remind the public that there are 13 free drop boxes across the county, and they are open 24 hours a day. If you are mailing in your ballot, it needs to be at the post office by May 5, 2026. For more information or to find out your polling location, visit votedouglascounty-ne.gov.
Nebraska’s primary election is next week. Are you ready?
Douglas County Commissioner Danielle Jensen sat down with KETV Newswatch 7’s Quanecia Fraser to talk about what her office looks like as they prepare for an avalanche of votes.
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“Everybody who has mailed in their by-mail ballots, we are preparing to open those and store them away until we count them on election day”, Jensen said.
She adds that people who want to vote early have been coming into the Commission office in person.
Jensen wants to remind the public that there are 13 free drop boxes across the county, and they are open 24 hours a day.
If you are mailing in your ballot, it needs to be at the post office by May 5, 2026.
For more information or to find out your polling location, visit votedouglascounty-ne.gov.
