OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Omaha residents are heading to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in the city’s General Election.

The mayor’s race is on the ballot, with Incumbent Jean Stothert and challenger John Ewing, as well as seven city council seats.

Polls are set to be open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Tuesday for in-person voting. Voters can verify their polling place through the Douglas County Election Commission’s website via the “Find Your Voting Information” box.

All rides on Metro buses are fare-free Tuesday for Election Day. The offer also applies to Metro’s ORBT riders, as well as any certified MOBY clients.

Officials say early votes will be the first ones reported at 8 p.m. Tuesday, but the early votes turned in late, either this week or Wednesday, will be counted later in the week.

The race for Omaha’s top political spot has grown heated at times, now the clock is ticking on campaign time in the city’s general election and both candidates are working on getting the vote out.

Supporters for John Ewing are still drumming up support, working to win an election that many had Ewing picked as an underdog.

“Well, I think the first thing that I overcame was doubt that a lot of people had in our ability to win,” Ewing said.

Now in the final hours, Ewing and incumbent Jean Stothert are trying to get more voters to go to the polls on Election Day.

“We’re still working. We’ll be working all day today too, making sure people get out to vote,” Stothert said.

However, in City Council Districts Five and Six, the candidates are running unopposed, and that could mean fewer voters coming out to vote out west.

At 10:30 a.m. in District Six, St. Paul Lutheran Church in Millard counted a few more votes compared to the same time in the primary.

“It’s not always surprising, and the thing is there’s a lot of people who vote early, and so if we look at our books we can see that there’s a lot of voters that have already voted,” Precinct Captain Crystal Asmussen said.

“I voted early and that’s part of it we don’t see people in person but they do care about voting and they’ve done it already

Same thing at Superior Honda, they had 140 voters in the primary, they’re expecting the same today.

“I think Republicans felt like it was going to be Jean Stothert, Democrats felt like it was going to be John Ewing, and their vote wasn’t going to make much of a difference, that’s just my theory,” voter Christine Kluka said.

In District Six, the same story. Around 11:30 a.m., not many voters at the German American Society hall.

“It’s a little behind schedule, it’s a little slower than the primary, we’re a little behind schedule. We’re hoping it picks up this afternoon,” Precinct Captain Jeff Erixon said.

“I think people, they’re voting for one position, even though it’s the mayor, and it’s important, they’re all just voting for one, so it probably hurts the turnout.”

Omaha’s two mayoral candidates vow to campaign until the last minute, and hope they can attract more than the 25% of voters who came to the polls during the primary.

Both Omaha mayoral candidates are still trying to attract the attention of voters. hoping a lot of sign waving will bring more people out to the polls.

The mayors’ race has captured the spotlight in this year’s election, the candidates combined to spend more than $2 million once the total bill is tallied to maybe attract fewer than 100,000 voters.

“The primary was 25%. I’m expecting 30-32% turnout this time. If we do 32%, that would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 93,000 voters.”

Darlene Thorpe is one of those 93,000. She’s voting today in Omaha’s District Two. The North Omaha district has a history of underperforming in almost every election. Darlene says history tells her she must always vote.

“Maybe because of my parents and what all they went through and my ancestors and the struggles they had to go through for us to be able to vote and get that right to vote, so I respect that and that’s something I instilled in my children as well,” Thorpe said.

Out west in District Five Gary and Christine Kluka voted today, their history tells them they must go to the polls in person.

“We served for 40 years on and off with the army. We think it’s our duty to come and vote even if there’s not a lot of things to vote for since the council seat here is uncontested,” Gary said.

“When Gary and I were young, we would vote from the military in Europe, and we would send out ballots in. We were told that our ballots would only be counted if it was a close election, and we went through a lot of work and effort to get our ballots in an environment where we’re working 12 hours a day, and I felt offended that this was put out there that our ballots were only of marginal importance,” Christine said.

Darlene says she’s heard all the excuses why people don’t vote. She says none of those excuses stand up.

“I’ve heard it so many times, ‘Well, if I vote it doesn’t mean anything if I vote because the person’s not going to get in anyway, so why should I do this why should I do that?’” Thorpe said.

“Well we don’t know, so you should take that chance. You should go and out and vote whether they get in or not, do your civic duty to help them get in.”

If you were sent a ballot to your home to mail in, it needs to be in a drop box by 8 p.m. Tuesday night to be counted.

Ballot drop boxes are open 24/7 at the following locations in Douglas County:

Due to Nebraska’s Voter ID law, voters are required to present a valid photo ID before voting.

Here is a list some examples of valid ID:

• Nebraska driver’s license
• Nebraska state ID
• U.S. passport
• Military ID
• Tribal ID
• Hospital, intermediate care facility, assisted-living facility or nursing home record
• Nebraska political subdivision ID (state, county, city, school, etc.)
• Nebraska college or university ID (public or private)

If you don’t have a valid photo ID, one can be procured from the Nebraska DMV for free. If you need a copy of a birth certificate to receive an ID, contact the Department of Health and Human Services.

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