Get Informed on Important Election Information

Visit the new Voter Engagement website for a deep dive on voting, voter engagement, and the election process.

The 2022 midterm election is coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 8, and for Nebraskans the last day to register to vote in the election is Friday, Oct. 28.

If you have not yet registered to vote, this is your first election, or you haven't familiarized yourself with the positions and policies being voted on, you likely have some questions and that is where UNO comes in! You can visit the new Voter Engagement website for a deep dive on the voting, voter engagement, and the election process.

Read on below for some quick highlights and more on UNO's dedication to getting out the vote thanks to a partnership with TurboVote.

About the Voting Process

As a reminder, you are only eligible to vote in the state that you are registered in. Since the deadline to register by mail has passed, you will need to register in person.

If you have not already submitted a mail-in or absentee ballot, you are encouraged to do so by Tuesday, Nov. 1. If you plan to vote in person you will want to make sure you know where your appropriate polling place is.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to take advantage of the university's policy, which allows two hours paid leave for civic duties, including voting in public elections if circumstances prevent an employee from voting at any other time.

Visit the Voter Engagement website for more information about the voting process.

Important Election Deadlines

Nebraska residents should plan to keep the following early voting deadlines in mind between now and Election Day:

• Oct. 28, 2022: Deadline for in-person voter registration

• Nov. 1, 2022: Recommended last day to return early voting ballot by mail.

• Nov. 7, 2022: Deadline for in-person early voting

• Nov. 8, 2022: Election Day

Visit the Voter Engagement website for more information.

The TurboVote Story

In early 2021 a student-led effort helped bring a dedicated web portal, TurboVote, to help UNO students, faculty, and staff answer many of the questions people have as they prepare to cast ballots on Election Day.

Nathan Johnson, one of the students who spearheaded the project, said the push to bring the platform was borne out of a desire by students to take disparate campus get-out-the-vote efforts to a higher level.

“In order to take civic engagement at UNO beyond just the scope of a couple student organizations and to bring it to a scale that will allow our campus to engage all of our students,” Johnson said. “One in five students at UNO are not registered to vote and two-thirds of students didn't vote in the 2018 election. While we are better than most campuses, being better is not enough if there is still a gaping problem that needs to be addressed.”

With the global outbreak of COVID-19, TurboVote arrived at UNO at a time when the UNO community may need it the most.

TurboVote officially launched at UNO in late 2019 and the student team of Johnson, Dalton Meister, Bri Full and Kenna Barnes were in the process of raising awareness of the platform before the global outbreak disrupted their plans. With social distancing being a concern at polling places across the country, voting by mail could be a safer avenue for casting ballots. TurboVote will be able to connect the UNO community with the information and guidance they need in order to do so.

“We want(ed) to make sure that every student, staff, faculty, and administrator has access to the ability to vote and to understand what this right means and how to protect it,” Meister said. “We wish to empower others to use their vote as their voice in conversations about how we approach the construction and design of our society, as one's vote is one of the most powerful tools that we have to seek social change.”