Drop off or in person, 8 p.m. is deadline to cast your vote in the primary election – North Platte Telegraph

Whether theyre voting live or by mail-in ballot, Lincoln Countys registered voters have until 8 p.m. this primary election day to make sure their voices are heard.

If youre among the record 9,278 county voters who had ballots mailed to you due to the COVID-19 outbreak, your best bet is to drop off your ballots in the secure dropbox in the Sheriffs Office parking lot at 302 N. Jeffers St.

West central Nebraska counties in the Central Time Zone have from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to vote live or turn in mail-in ballots. Mountain Time counties will vote from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Lincoln County Clerk Becky Rossell says ballots physically mailed in must be in her offices possession by the deadline to count, even if theyre postmarked on or before Election Day.

No postage is required to use the county dropbox, Rossell said.

In-person primary voting in North Platte will take place at the D&N Event Center, 501 E. Walker Road, or the Berean Church, 202 W. Eighth St.

Precincts outside North Plattes city limits will vote at their usual locations, except for Hall, which will vote at the Berean Church.

Masks will be available for in-person voters who dont have them. Polling workers will wear personal protective equipment, Rossell said.

In North Platte, voters will make their first choice for mayor from among City Councilman Andrew Lee, former Councilman Larry Lee Britton, businessman and homebuilder Lonnie Parsons, Great Plains Health executive Brandon Kelliher and retired business leader John Hales.

The sixth listed candidate, Dave Vigil, withdrew from the race in April due to family health reasons.

The top two vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 3 general election. The same is true in City Council Ward 4, where incumbent Lawrence Ostendorf is being challenged by Mark Woods and Tracy Martinez.

Voters in North Platte Public Schools Ward 2 will advance two candidates for the school board seat being vacated by former board President Mike Morrell. Angela Blaesi, Pat Cullen and Brooke Luenenborg are the candidates.

Besides the mayors office, voters in November will fill a total of four City Council seats and three school board seats.

Because no candidates need to be eliminated in the other three council and two school board wards, all candidates in those races automatically advance to the general election.

Two Lincoln County Board elections will essentially be decided in Tuesdays Republican primary, as no Democrats or Libertarians filed for those seats. Petition candidacies remain possible for the general election.

In the boards District 1, 35-year veteran Joe Hewgley faces a GOP challenge from Irving Hiatt. The length of Hewgleys tenure ranks second among active county board members in Nebraskas 93 counties.

District 4, one of two commissioner districts created by county voters in 2018, features a Republican primary battle between appointed Commissioner Walt Johnson and challenger Chris Bruns.

Jerry Woodruff, appointed District 5 commissioner at the same time as Johnson, faces no primary opposition and automatically advances to the November election.

In federal races, first-term U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Fremont Republican, faces a primary challenge from Matt Innis of Crete, a former Lancaster County GOP chairman.

Seven Democrats are running to challenge the GOP winner: Dennis Frank Macek and Andy Stock of Lincoln; Chris Janicek, Angie Philips and Alisha Shelton, all of Omaha; Larry Marvin of Fremont; and Daniel Wik of Norfolk.

Gene Sladek of Omaha is unopposed in the Libertarian Senate primary.

Third District U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, a seven-term House member from Gering, is opposed for renomination by Republicans Larry Lee Scott Bollinger of Alliance, William Elfgren of Overton, Justin Moran of Atkinson and Arron Kowalski of Grand Island.

Mark Elworth Jr., who lives outside the 3rd District in Omaha, is unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Libertarian Dustin Hobbs of Grand Island is also unopposed.

The presidential race also appears on Tuesdays ballot, though President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have essentially wrapped up the GOP and Democratic nominations respectively.

Six Libertarians appear on their partys Nebraska presidential ballot: former U.S. Sen. and Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, Dan Behrman, Jacob Hornberger, Jo Jorgensen and Adam Kokesh.

Also listed is New Hampshire state Rep. Max Abramson, who withdrew in March.

U.S. Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, a former Republican, declared his candidacy for the Libertarian presidential nomination after the deadline to qualify for Nebraskas primary ballot.

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Drop off or in person, 8 p.m. is deadline to cast your vote in the primary election - North Platte Telegraph