Petersen Cites California Election as Key Example of Election Integrity Issues
by Matt Johnson
(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
OMAHA — Scott Petersen’s upset primary victory over two-time incumbent Bob Evnen in Nebraska’s Secretary of State race was driven largely by his hardline stance on election integrity. On Monday, Petersen highlighted the issue again at a Republican “unity luncheon” in Omaha.
“Restoring confidence in elections—you know, that’s a problem,” Petersen said. “If we don’t have confidence in elections, people are going to quit voting, and then we will have a problem electing good people.”
Election integrity is in the spotlight again after a contentious mayoral race in Los Angeles, California, where Republican challenger Spencer Pratt saw his early lead evaporate as mail-in ballots were counted. Petersen attributes this primarily to problems with mail-in voting.
“The 35-day mail-in ballot period that we have absolutely corrupts our elections, and President Trump—that’s what he says—mail-in ballots, corrupt elections,” Petersen said. “Now we have California, and the nation is going to get a big understanding of how corrupt that is.”
California has much more relaxed laws on ballot harvesting than Nebraska. There are no restrictions on who can deliver ballots for another designated voter or how many, and ballots can still be accepted after election day, even sometimes without a postmark.
Petersen cited Democratic-aligned NGOs and nonprofits as helping to win seats for Democrats in narrow races, such as George Dungan (LD-26) and John Fredrickson (LD-20) in 2022, who won their seats by 1.9% and 0.5%, respectively.
Petersen’s remedy involves dramatically scaling back the window in which voters can participate and who can engage in mail-in ballots. This would mean a shorter, ten-day period for walk-in voting and limited exceptions for “true absentee voting.” This would include those with physical limitations, and those who live “prohibitively far from a polling place.”
Petersen’s Democratic opponent, Sarah Slattery, said she believes Nebraska elections are secure and that more efforts need to be made to expand access to voting, including same-day voter registration.
“I think that voting can be both easier and more accessible to everyone eligible by allowing folks to register or change their registration all the way up to Election Day,” Slattery told the Nebraska Examiner. “Nebraska’s elections have always been secure. Now is the time to ensure that everyone who is able to vote has the information and education to do so.”
In the end, the issue of election integrity is likely to remain in the headlines in the coming months, as a “blue” state like California may continue to count ballots long after “red” states like Nebraska have finished.
“So that issue of voter integrity? We shouldn’t be fighting about that anymore,” Petersen said. “Now it’s time to come together and absolutely fight the forces that want to change the state.”
— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.