Sen. Pete Ricketts getting set to vote early last week, showing his voter ID as required by Nebraska’s new law, and also more than willing to back early voting by mail.

Sen. Pete Ricketts, Nebraska (R): “One of the things we need to encourage people to do is vote early, and if you’re comfortable voting by mail, go ahead and vote by mail.”

It was just a year ago when the voter ID debate was in full swing that State Sen. Julie Slama—all for Voter ID--wanted an even tougher law.

State Sen. Julie Slama, Sterling (R): "This bill has been taken by those who don't actually support voter ID, who don't actually support voter ID. They put together the biggest loopholes they can think of its voter ID without voter ID.”

One of Slama’s plans to close possible loopholes in the law: mail-in ballots confirmed by a notary public, but it didn’t fly.

Commissioner Brian Kruse, Douglas County Election Commissioner: "And the problem with the notary was really in some places in Western Nebraska notaries aren't available. You've got ranchers that live 45 minutes, you know, from town so you have an element of disenfranchising folks. Even here on this side of the state you know finding the notary and then the question was can notaries charge, can they not charge?

Probably they wouldn't be able to charge because it's for voting which could have been viewed as some sort of a tax.”

Joe Jordan, NCN: If I vote on May 14th in person at the polling place the poll worker looks at my driver’s license, my picture, says "Oh yeah that's you,' if I vote by mail nobody's looking at my photo ID, right?"

Commissioner Kruse: That's right."

Jordan: "So, when I do a mail in ballot then it's not a true photo voter ID?"

Commissioner Kruse: "I suppose you could say that yes. But there is a safety mechanism in place. We always check the signatures on request and on the ballots with our statewide voter registration system."

And for the last several years election officials in Nebraska have insisted this:

Secretary of State Bob Evnen, Nebraska (R): “The election processes in Nebraska are fair, their secure, they have a high degree of integrity.”