Minimal trouble during primary election despite Hall County polling changes

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - According to the Hall County Election Commissioner’s report, more than 9,700 people headed to the polls on Tuesday, but almost 40% of those people went to a different polling site than normal.

After the 2020 Census results came down, Hall County needed to redraw voting districts because of the growing population, and due to COVID, the results were going to take a little longer to get to the commissioner.

So, the changes had to be put into effect quickly. On top of that, election commissioner Tracy Overstreet says primary elections are harder considering several elections are being run at the same time.

“A primary is a lot more complex to run than a general election so the volume may not be as high but we are essentially running five elections because we are running an election for the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, the Libertarian Party, Legal Marijuana Party, and Non-Partisans,” Overstreet told Local4 News.

But she also said they were prepared for election day.

“One of the things that has really surprised me about primary election day in Hall County, is the lack of calls at the office from people wanting to know where to go. We put an extra phone line in cause we have 40% of our voters who are at a different polling site this election, and I think people have done a really good job of planning ahead,” Overstreet said.

The county had set a voter turnout goal of 30% to 35%, but only 29% of voters showed up to vote.

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