Write-in candidates file for Clearwater board

Antelope County residents who want to request ballots for early voting in the 2020 general election soon will run out of time to do so.

The deadline for requesting ballots by mail or fax a request to vote early in this year's General Election – scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3 – is 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23.

County residents who want to request ballots in person to vote early, must do so by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at the county clerk's office inside the courthouse in Neligh.

All ballots for early voting must be returned to the county clerk's office by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, either in person, by mail or in the courthouse's dropbox.

"We are approaching the 1,200 ballots requested, and have approximately half of those returned," said county clerk and election commissioner Lisa Payne. "I would say we have a more-than-average ballot request for a multitude of reasons."

The polls will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day across the county, including at the following sites:

-Brunswick Precinct: Brunswick Community Room.

-Clearwater Precinct: American Legion Post 267.

-Orchard Precinct: Orchard Fire Hall.

-Royal Precinct: Royal Auditorium.

Payne is in the process of making phone calls to recruit poll workers, who are paid minimum wage for their time.

"I am having some issues as there is some scare of the COVID-19 virus," she said.

Each precinct will offer masks and pens to voters who decide to cast ballots in person on Election Day.

Voters are able to cast ballots for candidates who are running for positions at the local, county, regional, state and federal levels.

At the local level, there are races for village boards of trustees:

-Brunswick: Craig Forbes, Joseph Rumsey and Edwin Wahrer are listed on the ballot. People may vote for up to three candidates.

-Clearwater: Incumbent Jay Snider is the only person listed on the ballot. There also are two candidates who want to be considered for write-in votes: Kelly Kerkman and Michael Klabenes. People may vote for up to two candidates.

-Orchard: Stephanie Cleveland, incumbent Dennis Clifton and incumbent John Ferguson are listed on the ballot. People may vote for up to two candidates.

-Royal: There are no names listed on the ballot. People may vote for up to two candidates.

At the county level, there are races for the board of commissioners – its members are voted on by district – as well as the weed control authority and the airport authority:

-County commissioner, District 2: Republican incumbent Eli Jacob of Clearwater is the only person listed on the ballot. People may vote for one candidate.

-County commissioner, District 4: Republican incumbent Charlie Henery of Neligh is the only person listed on the ballot. People may vote for one candidate.

-Weed control authority: Incumbent Edward Jensen of Neligh, incumbent William Van Brocklin of Creighton and Robert Willats of Orchard are listed on the ballot. People may vote for up to three candidates.

-Airport authority: There are no names listed on the ballot. People may vote for up to two candidates.

At the regional level, there are races for the:

-Northeast Community College Board of Governors:

For District 1, incumbent Donovan Ellis of Pierce is the only person listed on the ballot for District 1. People may vote for one candidate.

Incumbent Jeff Scherer of Beemer and Timothy Miller of Norfolk are listed on the ballot for the at-large position. People may vote for one candidate.

-Upper Elkhorn Natural Resources District Board of Directors:

For Subdistrict 5, Dennis Bridge of Royal and Cody Frank of Brunswick are listed on the ballot. People may vote for one candidate.

Arthur Tanderup of Neligh is the only person listed on the ballot for Subdistrict 6. People may vote for one candidate.

For Subdistrict 7, incumbent Keith Heithoff of Elgin is the only person listed on the ballot. People may vote for one candidate.

-Elkhorn Rural Public Power District Board of Directors:

For Subdivision 3, incumbent David Hoefer of Elgin is the only person listed on the ballot. People may vote for one candidate.

At the state level, incumbent State Sen. Tom Briese of Albion is the only candidate listed on the ballot who is running to represent District 41 in the Nebraska legislature.

People may vote for one candidate to represent the legislative district, which covers Antelope, Boone and Pierce counties.

At the federal level, there are races for the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. presidency and vice presidency:

-U.S. House, District 3: Republican incumbent Adrian Smith of Gering, Democratic opponent Mark Elworth Jr. of Omaha and Libertarian challenger Dustin Hobbs of Grand Island are listed on the ballot.

People may vote for one candidate to represent the congressional district, which is made up of 75 mostly rural counties.

-U.S. Senate: Republican incumbent Ben Sasse of Fremont, Democratic opponent Chris Janicek of Omaha and Libertarian challenger Gene Sladek of Omaha are listed on the ballot. People may vote for one candidate.

-U.S. presidency and vice presidency: Republican incumbents Donald Trump and Mike Pence, Democratic opponents Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and Libertarian challengers Jo Jorgensen and Jeremy Cohen. People may vote for one combination.