Civic Nebraska reports confusion over voter ID at some polling places

OMAHA, Neb. ( Nebraska Examiner ) - Civic Nebraska on Tuesday reported confusion at several polling locations over the state's relatively new voter ID requirement.

The nonpartisan voting rights group, which monitors Nebraska's elections, said that as of about noon it had received reports that poll workers at five polling places — two in Lincoln, two in Omaha and one in Bellevue — were incorrectly telling voters they could not cast a ballot if the address on their ID did not match the address on their voter registration.

"This is an unnecessary barrier," Civic Nebraska said a media statement. "Matching addresses are not a requirement in Nebraska's ID mandate."

Civic Nebraska said the reports came from its Voter Helpline and from volunteer election observers.

In most instances, Civic Nebraska said, the voters in question resorted to casting provisional ballots, known as the "ballot of last resort," which will not be counted until after Election Day.

Civic Nebraska said in the news release that it alerted the Secretary of State's Office about the reported concerns, and the state's Election Division reminded all county election offices of actual voter ID requirements. The organization also shared posts about the confusion on social media.

Nebraska's voter ID mandate, enacted in April, requires voters to present a "qualifying ID" showing their name and photo. Poll workers must accept IDs from the federal government, including a U.S. passport; the State of Nebraska, such as a driver's license or state-issued ID; any Nebraska college or university; local governments within the State of Nebraska; U.S. military IDs or IDs for veterans; Native tribes; and patient records with photos from nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospitals. The law also allows for expired IDs from these institutions.

"Our state's poll workers are working hard under pressure, but they must not inadvertently create additional barriers to Nebraskans' ballots," said Steve Smith of Civic Nebraska. "While there is no evidence this is happening broadly around the state, it's crucial for all precincts to be clear on this aspect of the ID mandate."

He said the organization thanks the state Elections Division "for acting quickly to provide absolute clarity on this matter."

By midday Tuesday, Civic Nebraska had received about 65 calls to the Voter Helpline. It had deployed 120 trained election observers to monitor key polling places across the state.

For the first time, ballot count observers also were deployed in key counties.

Nebraska has 1,264,149 registered voters. The Secretary of State's Office predicts participation to be about 72%.

Civic Nebraska also reported receiving a half-dozen calls related to electioneering, a common complaint on Election Day that involves wearing partisan clothing or accessories to a polling place or placing campaign signs within 200 feet of a polling place's entrance. One Springfield church that also serves as a polling place had literature about one of the state's abortion-related ballot initiatives within sight of the voting area.