Tuesday marks the first day for early voting in Sarpy and Douglas counties.
An hour before the Douglas County Election Commission opened for business, a small group of hearty voters stood outside in the morning chill to be among the first to mark their ballot.
As Brian Kruse, the election commissioner for Douglas County, puts it: It’s democracy in action.
“We have projected about 10,000 people to vote in-person at our office between now and October 28th,” he says.
In Douglas County, the election commissioner predicts roughly 80,000 voters will mail-in their ballots – meaning 90,000 voters will opt to vote early before the Nov. 8 election.
He says his office is seeing historic numbers for early voting, especially by mail.
This year, the numbers also continue to climb for voter registration. According to Kruse, it’s at an all-time high with more than 341,000 registered to vote.
We expect that number to increase as Election Day approaches, he says.
As for in-person voting, Kruse uses the opening day for early voting as an illustration:
By the time the election office closes at 5 p.m., he expects more than 200 people to take advantage of in-person voting.
To make it easier, Kruse says the office added five drop-off locations around the county including a drive-up box near 115th and Davenport streets to alleviate traffic congestion inside the parking lot at the election office.
For some people, voting early just makes sense.
“I've already made up my mind on the situation very quickly and I just want to get it over with. I think people are at the point, whoever wins we all lose,” Andrew Sullivan says.
Whether it’s by mail, in-person or a drop-off – early voters tell KMTV it's their civic duty.
“We have so many people complaining and you ask them, ‘Well did you vote for the person you're talking about? They say, ‘Oh, I didn't get to it, I forgot to get there.’ So, you got yourself to blame. Look in the mirror,” Wayne Bolten says.
I think people realize that it's time to step up and make a commitment to America, Cheryl Carrol says.
If you want to register or get a mail-in ballot, the deadline is Oct. 28. The last day for in-person voting at the election commission is Nov. 7.
For voter information in Douglas County, click here.
For voter information in Sarpy County, click here.
For general voter information, click here.
