OMAHA — A school lockdown in Lincoln on Tuesday briefly shut down a polling place.

In Omaha, a power outage caused by a construction crew gaffe had some voters casting ballots by the light of a lantern.

Those were among a few notable mishaps reported on primary Election Day in Nebraska.

But the biggest change that Nebraskans saw in voting procedures — the new legal requirement that they show a form of identification to cast a ballot at the polls — caused no widespread problems or concerns as of early evening, according to a check with various Nebraska officials.

“This has been a pretty smooth day,” said Steve Smith, spokesman for Civic Nebraska, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting voter rights and democracy. “We really didn’t know what to expect.” 

MVP of the day

He said earlier outreach efforts by the Nebraska Secretary of State — whom he called the “MVP” of the day — and advocacy groups appeared to have helped educate voters about requirements under the recently passed law.

Overall, Civic Nebraska as of about 6:30 p.m. Central Time reported an “efficient” Election Day. Smith said about four dozen observers visited a total of about 100 precincts.

Just under 50 queries were received by the “election protection line,” he said.

“Our primary is the state’s first election with the new ID requirements, and it continues to be top-of-mind with voters,” said Heather Engdahl, Civic Nebraska’s director of voting rights. “We have been providing clarity about the new law so that everyone who wishes to cast a ballot can do so without impediment.”

Among issues reported to Civic Nebraska:

• In Omaha and Lincoln, poll workers in a few instances were briefly unsure how to proceed after a voter presented a current Nebraska driver’s license that contained an old address. The new law allows outdated or expired ID cards, as long as they carry the person’s photo and name. Civic Nebraska said each of those situations was “quickly resolved,” and the voters were allowed to cast their ballots
• In Douglas County, a poll worker asked a voter to put away a mobile phone while in the voting booth. The voter cited a state law that allows voters to employ such resources to help in their voter process — and was allowed to vote.

Driver’s license and state ID were most common

Jackie Ourada, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office, said voting across the state had gone mostly smoothly into the evening.

She said most voters have chosen to show either a driver’s license or a state ID.

And now for a little ‘mood voting’ on Election Day in central Omaha

A news photographer said on social media that his Supreme Court-issued media photo ID was rejected. He wondered out loud if he would “risk a confrontation” by returning to the polling place in Otoe County.

Ourada said she was told by the county clerk that it was the name on the ID that caused confusion for the workers, as opposed to the type of ID. The name reportedly was similar to another voter’s name on the roster, the clerk said.

In another instance, Ourada said, a voter in Douglas County showed an out-of-state driver’s license, which is not acceptable ID under the new law. She said the person was allowed to fill out a provisional ballot, which requires the voter to report to the election commissioner within a week with an acceptable form of ID so the ballot can be counted.

Social media also highlighted pro-life messages scribbled in chalk near a polling place at Omaha Skutt Catholic High School.

Brian Kruse, Douglas County election commissioner, said he did not see the chalkings as electioneering violations since no abortion-related initiatives were on the ballot. 

SWAT team in the area

Kruse said that voting overall in Douglas County had gone relatively smoothly into the evening, with perhaps the most notable mishap being the power outage in central Omaha that affected two church polling places for less than two hours.

Voting continued with the help of natural light in one church. The other had voting booths in the basement. The Election Commissioner’s Office sent a runner to the facility with several  lanterns, and the church also provided lanterns and flashlights.

In Lincoln, a polling place at Mickle Middle School was closed from about 8:20 a.m. to 8:54 a.m. because the school was placed in lockdown, said Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen.

The school chose to go into lockdown mode after learning that the Lincoln Police Department and its SWAT team were in the neighborhood serving an arrest warrant.

Wiltgen said his office had a plan to relocate the polling place to another spot nearby, but the school reopened before the move started.

He said there was light voter turnout at the time, and he did not think anyone was turned away.

Overall, Wiltgen said, voting operations had gone smoothly into the evening. He knew of no problems related to voter ID.

Washing machine woe

An official at Spirit Life Church in Bellevue said morning voting had gone without any snags.

A yard sign planted at the entrance of a long driveway reminded voters of the need for ID. Another sign waited at the door.

“People have their IDs ready,” said Stephanie Warren.

At the American Legion Post 331 in South Omaha, polling official Janet Bonet said voting was light and no concerns had surfaced with voter ID.

She said one woman, a naturalized citizen born in El Salvador, had walked to the polling place to vote for the third time since becoming a citizen. She told workers that her mail-in ballot had gotten ruined in the washing machine. 

Bonet said the decision was made for the woman to cast a provisional ballot, as everyone wanted to see her vote count.

“It’s been a good experience so far for me and everybody else,” Bonet said of the day.

OMAHA — A power outage in central Omaha on Tuesday morning offered some Nebraska voters a “romantic” setting of sorts as they cast their ballot on Election Day. 

At least two polling places were without light and power for less than two hours. Omaha Public Power District officials said power was restored around 10:30 a.m.

One seemed to have sufficient natural lighting, but the other, a Lutheran church at about 60th and Center Streets, had voting booths in the basement and needed a bit of intervention from the Douglas County Election Commissioner’s Office.

Brian Kruse, county election commissioner, said his office sent a runner to the location with several lanterns that helped light pathways to voting booths. 

People were using flashlights on their cell phones. The facility also had some flashlights. 

“That’s a first for me,” Kruse said of the incident. 

OPPD said fewer than 1,000 customers were without power after a private construction crew hit an underground power line near 48th and Leavenworth Streets. No one on the crew was injured.

The area affected was between Dodge and Center Streets, from 60th to 48th Streets, plus University Drive North and Pacific Street from University Drive West to 46th Avenue.

Nebraska Examiner’s Aaron Sanderford was among the voters that marked their ballot in the dark during the power outage.

“Me and some of my neighbors got to vote like it was the 1800s,” he said.

One voter called the lighting “romantic.” Another called it “mood voting.”

Meanwhile, Tuesday marked the first election that, under a new state law, workers checked identification of voters. Kruse said all seemed to be going smoothly on that front so far, with no voter complaints as of midday.

LINCOLN — Nebraskans, check your wallets and purses for a picture ID before heading to the polls on Tuesday.

If you forget, you’ll need to request a provisional ballot at your polling site and follow up with your local election office by the close of business on May 21 to make it count. Or you’ll need to go back before the polls close and try again.

Tuesday is the first statewide election since Nebraska voters approved a requirement that IDs be checked before voting.

Early voting reminders

The 35% to 40% of Nebraskans that Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s office expects to vote early in the primary election already know.

“Nebraska’s polling places will be fully staffed and prepared for voters on Election Day,” Evnen said. “County election offices are ready.”

Early voters had to write down a state ID or driver’s license number or use a copy of an approved ID to request a ballot by mail or vote early in person at their county election office.

Ballots requested by mail must be returned to local county election offices or an official county election drop box by the close of voting at 8 p.m. CT or 7 p.m. MT Tuesday.

People casting early voting ballots can make sure their ballots were counted by checking the Secretary of State’s website at https://www.votercheck.necvr.ne.gov/voterview.

Voting in person

State and local election officials urge patience for the bulk of Nebraskans who still show up to vote in person on Election Day.

Lines could be longer and a little slower at morning and evening rush hours, as poll workers learn to check IDs and as people who came to vote without them adjust.

Voters can use Nebraska driver’s licenses, state IDs, military IDs, college IDs, nursing home or hospital records, tribal IDs, political subdivision IDs or U.S. passports.

Douglas County has added an extra staffer as a greeter at every local polling place this spring whose job is to communicate with people in line and make sure they have the proper ID.

Election rights advocates and both major political parties will be watching how the changes are implemented. Voting advocacy group Civic Nebraska urged Nebraskans who face any problems to call the group’s Voter Help Line at 402-890-5291.

People with questions can also call their county election office at one of the numbers listed here: https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/election-officials-contact-information. Or they can call the Secretary of State’s Office at 402-471-2555.

Few complaints so far

Few complaints have been relayed so far. Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse, who has the largest number of people voting early, about 50% of his expected primary tally, said he had not had one person request to talk to a supervisor to complain.

“We have had over 1,500 people vote (early) in person,” Kruse said. “We’ve had one of the new provisionals where someone forgot their ID. They’ve come back and cured it.”

Steve Smith of Civic Nebraska said his organization has heard about a dozen questions about when and where voters need to write down their state ID number while early voting. Truth is, county election officials check ID info when people request early voting ballots, so they don’t have to write it on the ballot-returning envelope.

People who live in counties and precincts that vote exclusively by mail — 11 whole counties and in parts of 19 others —  will need to write their state ID number on the return envelope.

The state will start posting unofficial election results online starting at 8 p.m. Central or 7 p.m. Mountain at electionresults.nebraska.gov.

The Secretary of State’s Office updates results every five minutes until county election officials call it a night. Nebraska’s counties often finish counting a few days after Election Day, although most results can be determined by the close of business Friday.