Only Republicans will choose new Red Willow County sheriff
McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County is gearing up for what will be the most contested sheriff race in the past three decades, if not longer, with four local law enforcement officers vying for the office. As the number of yard signs rallying support for local candidates increases, county residents may be surprised to know more than a third of registered voters will be unable to cast a vote in the coming sheriff race.
All four sheriff candidates are registered as Republicans, meaning the race will be decided during the Primary Election on May 13. It also means only ballots for registered Republicans will include the option to vote for sheriff. Ballots for registered Democrats, Nonpartisans and Libertarians, which make up a combined 2,826 of the 7,144 registered Red Willow County voters, will not include the sheriff race.
As of Wednesday morning, Red Willow County registered voters were divided into 4,318 Republicans; 1,414 Democrats; 1,387 Nonpartisans; and 25 Libertarians.
"Hopefully, it's common knowledge that a voter who is affiliated with one political party can only vote for his party's candidates," said Red Willow County Clerk Pauletta Gerver, adding she was concerned voters unaware of certain election laws would be disappointed at the ballot box in May. Gerver said only those voters who are registered Republican will be allowed to vote for a Red Willow County Sheriff.
"In order for a nonpartisan voter to vote for the Red Willow County Sheriff he would have to register to vote, or re-register, and declare the Republican Party as his party affiliation," said Gerver. The postmark deadline for mail-in voter registrations is April 25 and the deadline for in-person voter registrations is May 2.
Nonpartisan voters will have the ability to request a second Nonpartisan Republican or Nonpartisan Democrat ballot, each with additional voting options, but neither will offer the ability to vote for sheriff. Gerver said many Nonpartisan voters arrive at their polling place expecting to be able to vote for whoever they want in the Primary Election, only to be disappointed by the truth.
"Nonpartisan voters are those who have not declared any political party. Nonpartisan used to be referred to as Independent, so some people may not even realize what a Nonpartisan is," said Gerver.
Per state law, Nonpartisan voters are automatically given a ballot with only Nonpartisan races and have the option to request a second partisan ballot, however, the Nonpartisan Republican ballot is not the same as the Official Republican Ballot.
"Many of them will go to the polls thinking they will get to vote for sheriff, or governor, or other partisan races," said Gerver.
Poll workers are forbidden from offering the additional Nonpartisan Republican, Democratic or Libertarian ballots and must wait for voters to request one, according to Gerver.
The Nonpartisan Primary Election ballot for May 13, 2014, will provide Nonpartisan voters the ability to vote for only a District 44 Legislature candidate and for a member of the District 7 State Board of Education. Requesting the additional Nonpartisan Republican ballot will offer two more options, voting for one of the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate and a Representative in Congress.
By comparison, the Republican Party Primary Election ballot for registered Republicans includes votes for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Attorney General, Auditor of Public Accounts, District 44 Legislature, District 7 State Board of Education and Red Willow County Sheriff.
"What makes it especially confusing this year is that the Nonpartisan voter who requests a Democratic ballot or one who requests a Libertarian ballot will be treated differently than the Nonpartisan voter who requests a Republican ballot. The Republican ballot that a nonpartisan voter would be issued, if they ask for it, will not have the partisan races such as governor or sheriff on it, however, the Democratic or Libertarian ballot that the nonpartisan voter would be issued, if they ask for it, will have the partisan races such as governor on them," explained Gerver.
The Libertarian and Democratic Party ballots both provide Partisan and Nonpartisan voters the ability to vote for their candidates for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Attorney General and Auditor of Public Accounts, as well as for the District 44 State Legislature and District 7 State Board of Education races.
For more information contact the Red Willow County Clerk's Office at 345-1552.
The Nebraska voter registration application can be found online at: