(1) In any county with less than ten thousand inhabitants, the county clerk may apply to the Secretary of State to mail ballots for all elections held after approval of the application to registered voters of any or all of the precincts in the county. The application shall include a written plan for the conduct of the election which complies with this section, including a timetable for the conduct of the election and provisions for the notice of election to be published and for the application for ballots for early voting notwithstanding other statutory provisions regarding the content and publication of a notice of election or the application for ballots for early voting. If the Secretary of State approves such application for one or more precincts in the county, the county clerk shall follow the applicable procedures in sections 32-953 to 32-959 for conducting elections by mail, except that the deadline for receipt of the ballots shall be the deadline specified in subsection (2) of section 32-908.

(2) The county clerk of a county that has an approved application pursuant to subsection (1) of this section:

(a) Shall allow a voter to return the ballot by hand-delivering it to the office of the county clerk;

(b) Shall maintain at least one secure ballot drop-box available for voters to deposit completed ballots twenty-four hours per day, starting at least ten days before the election through the deadline provided in subsection (1) of this section for the receipt of ballots;

(c) Shall maintain at least one in-person voting location at the office of the county clerk at which a voter in a precinct subject to a plan under this section approved by the Secretary of State may receive and cast a ballot which shall be open on the day of the election from the time for opening the polls pursuant to section 32-908 through the deadline provided in subsection (1) of this section for the receipt of ballots;

(d) Shall maintain in-person early voting opportunities as described in section 32-942; and

(e) May provide additional secure ballot drop-boxes and in-person voting locations that need not be open according to the requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c) of this subsection.