Unless someone petitions to be added to the general election ballot or mounts a strong write-in campaign for the fall, Seward County Republicans could be selecting who will fill two Seward County commissioner seats in the primary election.
No candidates filed as Democrats, Libertarians, Legal Marijuana NOW, or nonpartisan candidates on the county’s primary ballot.
But there are races for both seats among Republicans in Seward County.
With District 3 Incumbent Commissioner Raegan Hain not seeking another term, three candidates, Tyler Dickinson, Kaely Eberspacher and Jon Propst, are seeking the Republican nomination for that seat.
District 5 Incumbent Ken Schmieding is being challenged by Jonathan Curtis.
The winners of the primary races for the Republican nominations may be unopposed in the general election.
The regular nonpartisan ballot – like the party-specific primary ballots – includes all nonpartisan races in the state, which would include the Nebraska Unicameral, board of regents, utility districts, public power districts, natural resource districts, city councils, judges, villages, school boards and others.
All registered voters have the opportunity to vote on primary races in nonpartisan races, which would include the state school board district in which Michaela Conway, Angie Eberspacher and Lana Daws are seeking the two spots on the general election ballot, as well as city, village and school board races.
Seward County residents have a couple of options if they want to vote on a party-based race.
Request nonpartisan
party ballots
Nebraska’s political parties had until March 12 to designate how much of their primary ballots would be open for nonpartisan voters who have the option to request a party-based ballot as they check in at their polling place. This is offered in addition to their regular non-partisan ballot.
As listed on the Nebraska Secretary of State’s website, a Republican or Legal Marijuana NOW nonpartisan ballot offers the opportunity to vote on U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives primary races, but not state or county races.
A Democratic or Libertarian nonpartisan ballot allows nonpartisans to vote on federal, state and county races, although in Seward County, there are neither Democratic nor Libertarian candidates seeking county offices.
The Republican designation is consistent with past primary elections since a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court case involving Connecticut cited the Qualifications Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. In the late 1980s, then, the Nebraska Legislature amended its regulations around partisan congressional primaries.
Since then, Nebraska Republicans have usually opened up only the U.S. Senate and House of Representative primary races for nonpartisan voters, while the Democratic, Libertarian and Legal Marijuana parties allowed nonpartisans to weigh in on all partisan races in the past.
Change party affiliation
The other option nonpartisan voters have is to change their voter registration to the party whose primary ballot has the races they want to vote on.
Seward County Clerk Brandy Johnson said any registered voter can change their party affiliation up until May 1, or “two Fridays before” the primary election if they come to the Seward County Clerk’s office.
Online changes can be made until April 24, as can changes made at a Nebraska driver’s license station.
Johnson said people who change their registration to vote in a primary often change back after the election, but there is a post-election blackout period for such changes while the voting is canvassed and approved.
The rules affect about 2,218 Seward County voters registered as nonpartisan. As of March 2, the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office showed that Seward County’s registrations also included 7,227 Republicans, 1,940 Democrats, 149 Libertarians and 40 Legal Marijuana NOW voters.
While Johnson said it is just a matter of refiling their voter registration form, she suggests people bring their driver’s license or other identification they will be using to prove their identity when voting to make sure it aligns with their current voter records.
“I am encouraging people to update their addresses,” Johnson said. People can confirm their registration data online.
“It is faster and a lot easier if they check this before they vote. It’s easier for everyone,” she said.
A person who has changed their name since registering to vote may still have to file a provisional ballot, which is reviewed before their vote is unsealed and counted.
The 2024 Census estimate of Seward County residents 18 and older put the number of residents of age to vote at 13,753, or 77.4% of the county population. The secretary of state’s data showed 11,574 of them had done so.
