The November Ballot Takes Shape as Deadlines Pass and Approach

by John Gage

(Picture credit Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office)

The November general election ballot is getting closer to taking its final shape. Thursday marked the deadline for ballot petitions to submit signatures to make the ballot.

Three separate groups have announced that they have turned in signatures for their ballot initiatives, including: “Tax Relief Nebraska,” a pair of initiatives that would legalize and regulate sports betting in Nebraska; “Fairness for Girls,” a constitutional amendment that would ban biological males from competing in girls’ sports; and “Respect Nebraska Voters,” a constitutional amendment that would raise the threshold for lawmakers to change previously approved ballot initiatives.

All three initiatives still need signature verification, but each is expected to have enough signatures to make the November ballot, barring any potential legal disputes from opponents.

All three initiative groups have raised significant amounts of money. “Fairness for Girls” has raised over $3 million, “Tax Relief Nebraska” has raised over $7 million, and “Respect Nebraska Voters” has raised over $2 million.

Other initiative measures fell short of making the ballot, including proposals to cut property taxes, require hand-counted ballots for elections, and an initiative to make Nebraska a winner-take-all state.

A fourth measure is a constitutional amendment to modify term limits for state legislators which is set to get added to the ballot following a vote of the Legislature. Currently, state senators are limited to two consecutive terms, but the constitutional amendment, introduced by State Sen. Rob Dover, would change the constitution to allow senators to have three consecutive terms.

Dover told The Plains Sentinel that a bipartisan effort to support the passage of the amendment was currently underway, and that he was not aware of any organized effort to oppose the amendment. The measure made the ballot after a 39-10 vote in the Legislature.

Nebraskans passed the state’s original term limit amendment in 2000, by a margin of 56% to 44%.

Independent Candidates

Nebraskans are likely to see a couple major independent candidates on their ballot this November. U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn already turned in his signatures last month to make the ballot and run against incumbent Republican Senator Pete Ricketts.

For voters living in the First Congressional District, Independent candidate Austin Ahlman is inching closer to the signature threshold in his bid to take on incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Flood and Democratic challenger Chris Backemeyer.

Ahlman told The Plains Sentinel on Thursday that his campaign expects “to pass the 2k mark here this weekend,” adding that they “will shoot for a lot higher than that.” Ahlman’s Independent bid is required to obtain 2,000 valid signatures to make the ballot.

A third Independent bid could come in the gubernatorial race with former Republican State Sen. Brett Lindstrom. Lindstrom teased a potential run early this spring, but has remained silent publicly in the past month.

Political observers have told The Plains Sentinel his only chance at making a competitive race is if he gets Democratic challenger Lynne Walz to agree to drop out or the two create a joint ticket. Walz emphatically denied to The Plains Sentinel that she has been in talks with Lindstrom.

Party Fight

The latest potential wrinkle for the November ballot comes from two last minute attempts to try and form two new parties. Last week, Robin Richards, a failed legislative write-in candidate and registered Democrat, filed to form a new “Nebraska Working People Party,” which Democrats have accused of being a ploy by the Ricketts campaign to put another candidate on the ballot for the Senate race, while Republicans say its a result of “Democrats’ disarray.”

Petitioners for the group have been seen over the past week in multiple locations across Lincoln and Omaha, suggesting the group has some form of financial backing. The Plains Sentinel has been unable to reach Richards for comment on the story.

Following Richards’ filing, John Cartier, a longtime progressive activist, filed to form an “America First Party,” which he said was made with the goal to “give voters options.” Cartier did not respond to a question by The Plains Sentinel about whether his effort has financial backing.

On Saturday, The Plains Sentinel spotted multiple paid petitioners representing the “America First party” at Fourth of July parades in Seward and Omaha.

Both parties will need to collect “signatures totaling not less than one percent of the total votes cast for Governor at the most recent general election,” which is just under 7,000 signatures before July 15.

— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.