Nebraska § 32-953 - Special election by mail; mailing of ballots or notice in lieu of ballots; requirements; oath; procedure.

§ 32-953. Special election by mail; mailing of ballots or notice in lieu of ballots; requirements; oath; procedure.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, the election commissioner or county clerk shall mail the official ballot to all registered voters of the political subdivision or the district or ward of the political subdivision at the addresses appearing on the voter registration register on the same day. The ballots shall be mailed by nonforwardable first-class mail not sooner than the twenty-fifth day before the date set for the election and not later than the tenth day before the date set for the election. The election commissioner or county clerk shall include with the ballot instructions sufficient to describe the voting process and an unsealed identification envelope. Upon the back of the identification envelope shall be printed boxes sufficient for the voter to provide the voter's Nebraska driver's license number or state identification card number and a form substantially as follows:

VOTER'S OATH

I, the undersigned voter, declare that the enclosed ballot or ballots contained no voting marks of any kind when I received them and that I caused the ballot or ballots to be marked, enclosed in the identification envelope, and sealed in such envelope.

To the best of my knowledge and belief, I declare under penalty of election falsification that:

(a) I, .................., am a registered voter in .................. County;

(b) I reside in the State of Nebraska at ..................;

(c) I have voted the enclosed ballot and am returning it in compliance with Nebraska law;

(d) I have not voted and will not vote in this election except by this ballot; and

(e)(i) My Nebraska driver's license number or state identification card number is written in the corresponding boxes;

(ii) A photocopy of my valid photographic identification is enclosed; or

(iii) I have a reasonable impediment that prevents me from presenting valid photographic identification and my certification is enclosed.

ANY PERSON WHO SIGNS THIS FORM KNOWING THAT ANY OF THE INFORMATION IN THE FORM IS FALSE SHALL BE GUILTY OF ELECTION FALSIFICATION, A CLASS IV FELONY UNDER SECTION 32-1502 OF THE STATUTES OF NEBRASKA. THE PENALTY FOR ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS IMPRISONMENT FOR UP TO TWO YEARS AND TWELVE MONTHS POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION OR A FINE NOT TO EXCEED TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, OR BOTH.

I also understand that failure to sign below will invalidate my ballot.

Signature ........................................

(2) The election commissioner or county clerk shall mail a notice in lieu of a ballot to all registered voters who have been sent a notice pursuant to section 32-329 and failed to respond to the notice. The notice shall explain how to obtain a ballot and state the applicable deadlines.

(3) This section does not apply to any voter who casts a ballot pursuant to section 32-939.02 or 32-939.03.