Lincoln nonprofit aims to make voting easy with all-in-one election guide

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A local nonprofit is hoping to get more voters informed about the 2024 election.

Tommy Blanton saw a voter guide on a friend’s coffee table while visiting in Oregon, and that guide inspired him to make his own.

He started Vote Wise Nebraska, collected information for voters in the Cornhusker State and started mailing packets out to Lincoln homes on Thursday.

Blanton said research shows that three weeks is too early to get voters’ attention and under two weeks is too late.

“So we’re getting right at that two-week mark,” Blanton said.

And people who received the guides have been telling him they’re glad they have the pamphlets.

On Monday, Blanton took extra pamphlets to voters at a nursing home in Lincoln.

“Voters are just like everyone else; they’re prone to information overload, and you have to go to several places to find the information,” he said. “And you know, I think you’re going to be losing voters for every additional barrier, so we just want to provide simpler information, and we want to attain universal access via mail.”

He thinks the voter guides will bring more voters to the polls.

“It’s very normal to avoid the things you don’t know,” Blanton said. “So I think if they get this voter pamphlet and they see the essential information, it will be less scary.”

Blanton is encouraging those who received the guides to fill out a survey by scanning a code on the back.

He’s hoping to use the feedback to grow the effort in future elections.

Eventually, Blanton’s goal is to send a guide to ever registered voter in the state.

But for now, you can find it on votenebraska.org.