So you mailed in your early ballot, but did you remember to sign the envelope?
Last fall, it was reported that over 1,000 ballots were rejected by the Douglas County Election Commissioner’s office, a majority of those because the voter forgot to sign the envelope. An easy fix, but, swamped with the upcoming election, the election office just simply didn’t have the capacity to reach out to these voters. Both political parties said they would reach out to their voters, but what about the others?
Enter: Civic Nebraska.
With the help of the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table, Civic Nebraska was able to identify and contact 789 impacted voters. Civic Nebraska staff and volunteers were able to provide 
notification and instruction on how to fix their ballot. Of the 111 voters we were able to get ahold of, 68 took action and had their vote counted.
It took time, it took manpower, it took money to make those calls, but when you’re talking about 68 voters being rejected for a technicality – it was worth every cent.
“Almost every person called appreciated our reaching out and taking the time to walk them through the process, that we cared about ensuring their vote counted.” – Kinzie Mabon, Civic Nebraska Community Organizer
To support efforts like these, donate to Civic Nebraska for Omaha Gives! or Give to Lincoln Day!
