Election season is here in full force and as polling place information is being sent out by mail, it’s not how to vote that's on the mind of voters, it's where.
William King is campaign manager for Board of Regents candidate Larry Bradley. He says it’s precinct changes made by the Douglas County Election Commission that leaves him concerned.
“When you create confusion there’s the potential for people being mislead," says King. "I know they've brought some polling sites back, but I don't know how they've been notified in the community.”
King says it's also up to leaders in north Omaha to educate the community. “You can't sit around and blame other people for whatever because that same time you can be using for proactive means.”
The issues raised several months ago about consolidating polling places have also re-invigorated some voters. Sergio Sosa runs the Heartland Workers Center in south Omaha. He's working with the Election Commission to educate Latino voters before Election Day. “It has been a great process as a citizen or new citizens to educate ourselves by doing things.”
Sosa says his group is targeting the 8,000 Latino voters who are eligible and registered to vote, but don't show up to the polls. He's hoping to change that by picking up the phone and reaching out to voters.
“Next week, we will start calling 8,000 voters and tell them about the simple ballot, the absentee ballot and encourage them to send it back."
If you are registered to vote, you’ll receive a new yellow polling place information card in the mail.
Channel 6 News also spoke with Douglas County Election Commissioner Dave Phipps about voter fraud. He says that they keep tab on making sure one person doesn't vote multiple times by having every signature of registered voters in Douglas County.
“If someone requests a ballot, we compare signatures to what they have on file so it's not just a matter of me signing a name and signing someone else's name,” says Phipps. “There are checks and balances to the system."
You’ll find the Web site for the Douglas County Election Commission below.