Wynot board members are seeking re-election

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HARTINGTON - A Cedar County commissioner officially withdrew from seeking another tenn and two Wynot school members want to keep their seat in the latest election filings submitted in Cedar County.

Cedar County Commissioner Craig Bartels officially withdrew from the race Jan. 25, 20 days after initially filing for another term. That leaves the county commissioner seat open for anyone interested in representing the interests of District 2 which include Laurel, Randolph and Coleridge.

Bartels is the only member of the three-person commissioners board with an expiring therm.

In the Wynot school board race, Kelly Wieseler and Kris Tilley have filed for re-election. Greg Hite also has an expiring term, but has not yet filed.

Gayle Hochstein has filed for re-election to the Hartington Airport Authority Board. Darrell Kathol also has an expiring six-year term but has not yet filed.

The incumbent deadline is set for Thursday, Feb. 15 while anyone new has until Friday, March 1, as many local races like school board and city council for Randolph, Laurel, Hartington and Wynot are set to appear on the May 14 primary election ballot.

All village board races such as in Belden, Magnet, and Fordyce will appear on the general election ballot only. The general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Village board incumbents have until July 15 to file for re-election while all new candidates have until Aug. 1.

Residents can look up their voter registration or register to vote online through the Nebraska Secretary7 of State website, sos.nebraska.gov/elections/ elections-division. There is also a form available online or in person at the Cedar County Clerk’s Office.

The Secretary of State indicates there are more than 1.2 million active registered voters in the state - more than 600,000 registered Republicans; more than 330,000 registered Democrats; 18,000 Libertarians; 5,000 for the Legal Marijuana NOW party and more than 260,000 who vote nonpartisan.

In 2022, Nebraska voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring voter to show ID. In June 2023, the governor signed into law LB514, the bill putting voter ID into effect.

Educational materials on Voter ID indicate voters should write their driver’s license or state ID number on the ballot return envelope or enclose a copy of their photo ID with the ballot.

Ballots are mailed 20 days prior to election to all registered voters in the county.