Counties play a central role in administering local elections. Election officials are responsible for registering voters, maintaining records, training poll workers, counting ballots, reporting results, educating the public about election processes and the importance of casting their vote, and so much more.
For Nance County Election Commissioner Adrian Chlopek, a recent local election highlighted just how significant a single vote is and how important it is to follow procedures to ensure election integrity.
“A school bond issue failed in a 2024 special election, but when it came up on the primary ballot, it ended up winning by a single vote because the people who voted against it the first time figured that they didn’t have to the second time around and expected that the outcome would be the same,” she said. “I knew ahead of time that this was going to be a contentious vote, so even though we didn’t have to, my office hand-counted those ballots because I wanted to make sure I could say that we were 100% correct. But people were still very angry because the bond lost the first time, and they figured it would lose again. I ended up having a lot of conversations with upset people after the election about this being how democracy works, and that if you care about something but you don’t show up to cast your vote, you can’t necessarily complain if it doesn’t go your way.”
As voters prepare to head to the polls, county election officials are also working to educate the public about how elections are administered and how integrity is maintained.
Madison County Election Commissioner Anne Pruss said the election process involves far more people and safeguards than many voters realize. She estimates that Madison County has just over 165 people helping with this May’s primary election. Whether it’s poll workers at the precincts, road workers helping transport ballot boxes and other necessary materials, or additional office staff that support counting efforts, Pruss said it’s not a one-person show.
“Once the polls close, every location balances its books, counting the number of ballots and the number of signatures collected at the site,” she said. “Then they make their way into the office, anywhere from about 8:40 p.m. or as late as 9:30 at night. Workers drive the locked ballot boxes here, and then the staff checks in the equipment, logs when the seal on the locked box is broken, and prepares the ballots to be counted again.”
As counts roll in, Pruss reports the numbers on the county website, the Secretary of State’s office, and the MIPS Election Results page. County staff keep the media updated as the night progresses. Pruss noted that a common misconception about election day is that by the end of election night, the results are final. In reality, official election results could take up to a week.
“Until we have everything done and we’ve gotten the all-clear from the state, we’re here. The latest I’ve ever been here is 3:30 a.m. But our job isn’t done after that. We come in at 8 a.m. the next day and start counting provisional ballots, scanning signatures, and running reports to see if they match the election workers’ reports. All of this could take three to four days. Then the canvassing board comes in and works through each precinct to make sure things balance. Then the state has its own process of checking each county’s results.”
Both Pruss and Chlopek echoed the same sentiment: Nebraska is the gold standard for conducting free and fair elections.
“People sometimes can’t believe the number of checks and balances there are on election day. The Secretary of State’s office has done a great job providing us with the tools we need to make elections throughout Nebraska almost flawless,” Pruss said.
“Nebraska runs secure elections that everybody can trust,” Chlopek said. “We verify signatures and take pride in making sure everything matches. I’ve gone as far as sending letters and calling people when things don’t match. We don’t take elections lightly – whether it’s ballots or petitions, we go through with a fine-toothed comb because that’s our standard of integrity and that’s what our voters expect.”
Chlopek said that a big reason she’s able to run such efficient and accurate elections is that they’re administered locally.
“It’s important to keep elections local because when you get too big, that’s when you’re going to see things fall through the cracks, and that low-error rate that we have might go away,” she said. “In a small town like the one I’m from, I know everyone, they know me, and that trust is there. The trust is there because their vote is being counted by someone they know, not a stranger at the state or national level.”
County election officials play a critical role in maintaining trust in elections, working alongside election workers and other staff members to ensure every ballot is secure, every signature is verified, and every person who went to the polls has their voice heard.
