Sheriff challenge possibility slim, not impossible

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The most contested race for Red Willow County Sheriff in recent memory came to an end last week, at least for three of the four candidates. Chief Deputy Alan Kotschwar amassed the most votes during this month's primary election and with no Democratic challenger, as well as very few other possibilities, it will likely be smooth sailing for him through the general election.

A candidate petitioning onto the general election ballot would appear to represent the highest possibility of a challenger going forward, however, petition candidates are disqualified if they had a party affiliation after the first of January. Given Red Willow County's voter demographics and a recent report from the county clerk's office indicating the Republican-only race for Sheriff had prompted some voters to shift their affiliation to join the Republican party, the number of qualified candidates in the county would likely be minimal.

Although it is possible headlines in recent weeks reading "only Republican voters will choose sheriff," could be followed by "only Independent candidates pose a challenge for the Republican nominee."

Petition candidates have until Sept. 1, 2014, to submit signatures equal to 20 percent of the county's total vote for Governor or President at the immediately preceding general election, according to Nebraska statute 32-618.

The number of signatures required for Red Willow County would be 983, according to the Red Willow County Clerk's office.

A petition candidate is identified as such on the ballot, for example, Alan Kotschwar will be identified as getting on the ballot by way of the Republican party, petition candidates would similarly be identified as getting on the ballot by way of petition.

A write-in candidate is another possibility for a challenger to the Sheriff's office, although they do not have the signature requirements of a petition candidate, they would likely face more of an uphill battle. As the name indicates, they are not represented on the ballot and voters must remember to write-in the candidate's name, losing what would seem to be a significant name recognition advantage.

Write-in candidates are credited for votes written reasonably close to the proper spelling of their name and have until 10 days prior to the general election to file with the county clerk's office, according to Nebraska statute 32-615.

Candidates who lost in the primary election are forbidden from running as write-in candidates during the general election.

In the past political parties had the ability to nominate a candidate after the primary election, if no candidate had filed to run. The nominations typically occurred during their corresponding pre-general election party conventions.

According to one election official, that option was taken away in 2006 when Nebraska election law was changed and failure to nominate a candidate prior to the primary election was no longer classified as creating a vacancy. The changes essentially require candidates be nominated by each party prior to the primary election.