(Picture credit 10/11)
The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference on Friday to announce that they had arrested 5 individuals involved in a potential fraud scheme involving a Lincoln charter amendment effort.
News of the investigation came after the group Good Government Lincoln announced on Wednesday that it would be redoing a petition drive following what the group believed was tampering in the process.
The city clerk told media outlets on Wednesday that the measure had failed with over 65% of the 30,000 submitted signatures being rejected. Typical petition campaigns aim for a 30% buffer to qualify for the ballot, making a 65% failure rate highly suspicious.
“All of these signatures are probably fraudulent,” Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said about the rejected signatures.
“The investigation centers around petitions that allegedly contained fraudulent signatures. Investigators believe circulators have been involved in collecting fraudulent signatures, having those signatures notarized, and submitting the petitions for ballot measures,” the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said in a release on Friday.
Houchin said law enforcement did not believe the fraud was politically motivated.
“Nothing in our investigation makes us believe any political entity is working or affiliated with this,” he said. “These are people out doing crimes. Period.”
The group, headed by former State Senator Tony Fulton, is seeking to amend the City of Lincoln charter. Their three proposed changes would institute term limits for the city council, allow residents of Lincoln’s extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction to vote in city elections, and realign city elections to coincide with state and federal elections in hopes of increasing voter turnout.
The signatures for the petitions had been filed with the Lancaster County Election Commissioner in late July.
“We thank the Lancaster County Sheriff, Election Commissioner and Prosecutor for their fast work on this issue, and we wholeheartedly support the prosecution of the fraudsters,” Fulton said in a statement on Friday.
“We take the citizen-led petition process very seriously. We look forward to getting answers about exactly what transpired, and in the meantime remain committed to giving voters a voice on these issues for the November ballot.”
Jessica Flanagain, a consultant for the group, said her organization was considering all “civil options” against the petitioners. “We have successfully and lawfully circulated and passed numerous petitions in Nebraska, including Restoring the Death Penalty, Institution of Voter ID, and Protecting Women and Children with Initiative 434. Never before have we experienced issues with fraud,” Flanagain said.
The sheriff’s office said they are working with the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office on the case.
Houchin said that the U.S. Marshals Service had arrested 5 individuals across the country in Nevada, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Missouri. Several more arrests are outstanding.
Nebraska Public Media reported that the five individuals arrested were David A. Johnson, 25; Jessica Davis, 23; Nathan Kirschbaum, 32; Jason Luciano, 32; and Ryan McKinney, 41.
The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office released a statement saying they were taking the “fraud allegations seriously” and working to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“We are committed to protecting the integrity of the petition process and maintaining public trust. When credible information arises, we dedicate the resources needed to examine each situation thoroughly. Our office enforces election laws without bias, fear, or favor.”
Governor Jim Pillen said he was “deeply troubled” by the development and said the Legislature should look at repealing pay-per-signature petition gathering.
“I call on the Legislature to reform this system and to restore the ban on pay-per-signature,” he said. “I’m grateful to the law enforcement who are protecting our election system and investigating this election fraud, and expect those responsible at every level to be held accountable to the fullest extent under the law.”
The individuals will likely be facing felony charges in Nebraska. Suspects’ names are not being released at this time, and the investigation remains ongoing.
— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.
So Jessica is responsible for this mess?