Omaha, NE.—After a rocky week,
charges of racism among other things, Douglas County Democrats have bounced back in the early voting battle.
While still not enjoying the lead they have during the past two elections, Democratic vote by mail requests have now surpassed their Republican counterparts in and around Omaha.
According to the Douglas County Election Commission, after trailing the GOP by some 4,000 requests just a week ago Democrats are now some 600 ballots ahead.
[caption id="attachment_1693571" align="aligncenter" width="462"]
Source: Douglas County Election Commission[/caption]
As News Channel Nebraska reported exclusively, two top Democrats—Douglas County Chair Crystal Rhoades and State Chair Jane Kleeb—have been involved in a family feud that found Rhoades firing off an email accusing Kleeb of "jeopardizing every single candidate in this county."
The email, obtained by News Channel Nebraska, refers specifically to a highly sophisticated national Democratic Party voter database used for among other things critical get-out the vote and early voting efforts. Rhoades said Kleeb had stepped in and was "refusing to release" key information—such as voter addresses and phone numbers— to the Douglas County Democratic Party and the Kara Eastman for Congress campaign. Eastman's campaign has not been available for comment.
Kleeb fired off her own email telling party members Rhoades' email was lined with "incorrect information." Kleeb told NCN that no candidate (including Eastman) is blocked from the database, which for the first time ever is available for free. "I am doing my best to make sure folks know what the (Nebraska Democratic Party) is doing right now to help all Dems win."
Rhoades' email warned that if the voter information was not released by Kleeb "we have no hope of catching up to the Republicans on Vote By Mail and we have no chance of an effective GOTV (Get Out The Vote)."
Finally Rhoades ended her email with this PS: "I fully expect (Kleeb) will deny this. I'm happy to forward any and all email exchanges supporting these claims."
All this bubbled up at a time when Douglas County Republicans had gained the upper-hand in the vitally important vote-by-mail battle—both parties want to bank as many pre-Election Day votes as possible in order to avoid last minute decisions by voters who opt to stay home.
These were the vote by mail requests a week ago:
[caption id="attachment_1685000" align="aligncenter" width="476"]
Source: Douglas County Election Commission[/caption]
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The email, obtained by News Channel Nebraska, refers specifically to a highly sophisticated national Democratic Party voter database used for among other things critical get-out the vote and early voting efforts. Rhoades said Kleeb had stepped in and was "refusing to release" key information—such as voter addresses and phone numbers— to the Douglas County Democratic Party and the Kara Eastman for Congress campaign. Eastman's campaign has not been available for comment.
Kleeb fired off her own email telling party members Rhoades' email was lined with "incorrect information." Kleeb told NCN that no candidate (including Eastman) is blocked from the database, which for the first time ever is available for free. "I am doing my best to make sure folks know what the (Nebraska Democratic Party) is doing right now to help all Dems win."
Rhoades' email warned that if the voter information was not released by Kleeb "we have no hope of catching up to the Republicans on Vote By Mail and we have no chance of an effective GOTV (Get Out The Vote)."
Finally Rhoades ended her email with this PS: "I fully expect (Kleeb) will deny this. I'm happy to forward any and all email exchanges supporting these claims."
All this bubbled up at a time when Douglas County Republicans had gained the upper-hand in the vitally important vote-by-mail battle—both parties want to bank as many pre-Election Day votes as possible in order to avoid last minute decisions by voters who opt to stay home.
These were the vote by mail requests a week ago:
[caption id="attachment_1685000" align="aligncenter" width="476"]
