Douglas County is Nebraska's largest county with a population of over 510,000 people and over 350,000 registered voters. It includes the City of Omaha as its major population area, as well as a number of smaller communities, including Bennington, Boys Town, Ralston, Valley, and Waterloo. The Douglas County Election Commission has a staff of fourteen full-time employees, including Election Commissioner Brian W. Kruse.
Nebraska law requires that counties with a population greater than 100,000 people must have an Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor. Other counties with a population between 20,000 and 100,000 people may have an Election Commissioner appointed by the County Board of Commissioners. Douglas County's first Election Commissioner was appointed in 1913. Click here to see a list of all the County Clerks and Election Commissioners in Douglas County's past.
The Election Commission is responsible for conducting elections for all the political subdivisions within the county. There are statewide elections held every two years (a May primary and a November general), as well as City of Omaha Mayoral and City Council elections held every four years. Sanitary and Improvement District elections are held every year, and special elections can be scheduled during any year by various political subdivisions.
The Election Commission is not affiliated with any campaign or political party organization. We do provide campaigns and candidates with address information, including your political party, in accordance with state law. The Election Commission does not endorse or promote any candidates or issues.
Douglas County has been an innovator in elections in many different areas. It was one of the first counties to use ballot scanners to tally election results in 1976. Douglas County also drafts many of its poll workers, a practice that has allowed the county to always have sufficient numbers of workers when counties across the country struggle to find people to work the polls. In 2006, Douglas County became the first county in the country to program its ballots and ballot scanners and to print its own ballots, which saves Douglas County taxpayers over $250,000 per year.