Secretary of State Could Move to Keep Democratic Senate Nominee on the Ballot

by John Gage and Matt Johnson

(Picture credit Matt Johnson)

Secretary of State Bob Evnen is weighing options on whether he will plan to keep Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Cindy Burbank on the ballot if she demands to have her name taken off for the general election. Burbank beat out alleged “plant” candidate William Forbes on Tuesday, receiving nearly 90% of the Democratic vote.

Burbank has stated publicly that once she wins the Democratic primary, she plans to drop her name from the ballot. Evnen says he might not honor the request, though.

“I’m going to wait and see if she wins that primary,” Evnen said at an event in Omaha ahead of the primary elections. “If she submits a withdrawal, then I’m going to ask, ‘Well, what is my obligation with respect to this now? Do I have to accept it?’ So I’ve submitted this question to the Attorney General to see what happens.”

The Attorney General’s Office declined to comment for the story.

The Tuesday primary election marks the end of what some national observers have dubbed the “weirdest race” in America, between the matchup between Burbank and Forbes as well as the Legal Marijuana NOW party race, which featured a second candidate accused of being a “plant.”

Ahead of the Democratic primary, Burbank campaigned against Forbes on a promise to drop out of the general election race in order for Democratic support to coalesce behind Independent candidate Dan Osborn in his race against incumbent Republican Senator Pete Ricketts.

“I don’t wanna split the ballot,” Burbank told The New York Times after her win. “I have no expectations of being able to win in November.”

Any attempt by Evnen to keep Burbank on the ballot will likely lead to litigation, which would mark the second lawsuit between the pair after Evnen initially removed Burbank from the primary ballot arguing she was not a “good-faith” candidate.

“We get our nose rubbed in this. I don't think I have to ignore this,” Evnen said in March about why he took Burbank off the ballot. “And I'm just talking about the law right now. Just the law. The one thing that guides me is the law. And so I said, well I have the authority. The Secretary of State has the authority, even though the objection was late and was denied, has the authority to keep this person off the ballot because she has declared that she's going to violate the oath.”

The Nebraska Supreme Court eventually ordered Evnen to put Burbank back on the ballot, saying the compliant with the Secretary of State’s Office had missed a seven day deadline to challenge her candidacy.

The Plains Sentinel has reached out to Burbank for comment on the story.

John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.

Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.