By Russ Pankonin
    The Imperial Republican
    
     Voters in Chase County and throughout Nebraska will head to the polls on Tuesday, May 13 for this year's primary election.
     Five polling places in the county will open at 7 a.m. and will stay open until 7 p.m. that evening.
     County Clerk Debbie Clark said voter rolls show a total of 2,641 registered voters eligible to vote in next week's Primary.
     But just how many will turn out remains to be seen, Clark noted.
     With the presidential race decided on the Republican side of the ballot and Nebraska's first-ever Democratic caucuses in February making the primary results moot, Clark doesn't know what to expect in terms of voter turnout.
     There is only one county office up for election this election cycle - the District 1 county commissioner seat. This district encompasses much of the eastern third of Chase County including Enders, Wauneta and some of the east edge of Imperial.
     In that race, five candidates, all on the Republican ticket, will seek to be the sole candidate to advance to the general election.
     Because all the candidates are running on the Republican ticket, the race will be decided in the primary unless there is a Democratic write-in challenge in the general election.
     Candidates seeking the position vacated by incumbent Joe Johnston, who chose not to seek re-election, include Randall Hileman of Enders, William Greeley of Imperial, Danny Hale, Carl Williams and Chuck Vette, all of Wauneta.
     Another local race of interest includes Subdistrict 5 on the Upper Republican Natural Resources District board. Incumbent Tom Gaschler will face off against Gregg Smith and Steve Grams. All three are from Imperial. This subdistrict includes 13 townships north and east of Imperial, along with about 1/3 of Imperial from north of 4th Street and east of Broadway.
     The top two candidates in the primary advance to November's general election.
    
    One constitutional amendment
     Nebraskans will also vote on one constitutional amendment proposal that would allow certain size cities to invest public endowment funds in the same manner as a prudent investor would.
    
    House and Senate races
     Both Republicans and Democrats will select Congressional candidates to represent their parties in the general election.
     In the District 3 U.S. House of Representatives race, incumbent Adrian Smith will face Jeremiah Ellison on the Republican ticket. Paul Statz and Jav Stoddard face off on the Democratic ticket.
     In the U.S. Senate race, former governor Mike Johanns is seeking the Republican nomination and faces small businessman Pat Flynn.
     Former Congressional candidate Scott Kleeb joins three others seeking the nomination for the Democrats. Tony Raimondo switched parties to run on the Democratic ticket. The other candidates include Larry Marvin and James Bryan Wilson.
     The Nebraska Party and the Green Party also have one candidate on the ballot.
     Kelly Renee Rosberg represents the Nebraska Party and Steven R. Larrick is the Green Party candidate.
    
    Republicans voters outnumber
    Democrats in Chase County
     In total voter count in Chase County, Republicans outnumber any other party with 1,790 voters. A total of 601 Democrats are registered to vote, followed by 239 non-partisan voters, formerly known as Independents.
     Ten voters represent the Nebraska Party while there is only one Green Party voter registered.
     Clark noted that non-partisan voters can vote on the partisan Congressional races, provided they specifically ask for the ballots at the polling place.
     The polling places include the Wauneta Senior Center (231 N. Tecumseh, south entrance) for the Wauneta precinct; the Champion Community Center (265 Broadway St.) for the Champion/Lamar precinct; the Lied Imperial Public Library (703 Broadway, south entrance) for the Imperial
    West precinct; and the Imperial Community Center (1000 Wellington Street) for the Imperial East precinct.
     Monday, May 12, is the last day for in-person early voting at county clerk's office.
     The close of polls on May 13 is the deadline for the return of early-voting ballots, including ballots returned by mail.
     People with questions can contact Clark at the Chase County Clerk's office, 882-7500.