On May 10, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Box Butte County’s voters are encouraged to make their voices heard in the primary election.
Box Butte County Clerk Judy Messersmith said that this year the election protocols have returned to normal, as compared to 2020.
“We have all of our precincts where they always were,” said Messersmith. “So, all of the city of Alliance will vote at the Burkholder building. Hemingford will still vote at St. Bridget’s Parish Hall. The rural area will still vote on the first floor of the courthouse.”
Messersmith noted that the elevator at the Box Butte County Courthouse is currently out of service, so the office has developed a plan to aid early voters who are unable to take the stairs to the County Clerk’s Office.
“With the elevator out of order, the Secretary of State’s Office purchased another dropbox, a larger one that’s down in the lobby,” said Messersmith. “In fact, it’s padlocked and chained to the elevator door for security. There is also a button down there that voters can push, and it rings into our office. Then, we would go downstairs to the table that we have set up for early voters to vote. So, those needing to vote, who needed to use the elevator, we can accommodate them. We’ve had a few people who have used that so far.”
Messersmith said the equipment was purchased by the Secretary of State’s Office.
Messersmith said that so far, early voting has seen the same pace as previous elections. She noted that all of the candidates in local elections have advanced automatically to the general election.
“There’s no local races; everything auto-advanced to the general election,” said Messersmith. “That’s true with both Alliance and Hemingford. So, there are no local issues or amendments on anything on the primary ballot. Last time, the Secretary of State sent out postcards for people to request early ballots. This year, they did not do that. So, this year we’re back to normal, with just about the right amount coming in to vote early, like they used to.”
People who wish to view samples of the ballots prior to the election may locate them in the April 27 issue of the Alliance Times-Herald.