That would be lower than the 76% national turnout in the 2020 presidential election. Evnen based his estimate on early voter turnout and trends in recent general elections, according to a news release from his office.

“County election offices have done a remarkable job helping early voters cast their ballots safely,” Evnen said in a statement. “Nebraskans continue to comply with the new voter ID requirement before voting, and we expect this will continue on Election Day.”

Voter turnout in Nebraska’s 2020 general election set a new voter record, but fell short of the record 80.8% set in the 1968 election in which Richard Nixon defeated Hubert Humphrey.

“Turnout forecasting is not an exact science, especially in the changing environment we are experiencing today,” Evnen said.

For Omaha, Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse has projected a voter turnout of 73%, slightly lower than the overall turnout of 74.6% in the 2020 presidential election. He based this in part on the fact that there are fewer voters in Douglas County this year early voting requests than during the pandemic in 2020, when counties across the state mailed early voting request forms to all registered voters.

Statewide, county election offices generally did not receive as many early voting requests as they did in 2020 and therefore returned fewer early voting ballots by mail or drop box than in 2020, said Jackie Ourada, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office.

But early in-person voting at county election offices exceeds 2020 numbers, she said.

Douglas County had already surpassed a record for early in-person voting at the elections commissioner’s office before Monday, the last day of early in-person voting. On Monday morning, hundreds of people again lined up to cast their votes in front of the election commission office.

Polls are open Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Time or 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mountain Time.

On Monday, state and Douglas County election officials urged voters who have not yet returned their early voting ballots to do so. Tuesday is the last day voters can return their early ballots to county election offices.

Statewide, about 58,000 early ballots had still been returned as of Monday morning, Ourada said. About 16,000 voters in Douglas County have yet to return the early ballots they requested, Kruse said.

To be counted, these ballots must be dropped off at county election offices or official county voting drop boxes before the polls close on Election Day.

Don’t forget to sign the back of the ballot envelope, Kruse reminded voters Monday. And it’s now too late to send a ballot in the mail.

“Please please use one of our mailboxes,” he said. “Postmarks don’t count in Nebraska, and if you use the U.S. Postal Service, it will never reach us in time. We have 13 mailboxes in the district. You are safe. You are safe. They have cameras 24/7.”

Douglas County and Sarpy County have several drop boxes. Every county in Nebraska has at least one.