Nebraska
NE officials say voting went mostly smoothly in state's first election requiring voter ID • Nebraska Examiner
OMAHA — A school lockdown in Lincoln on Tuesday briefly shut down a polling place.
In Omaha, a power outage caused by a construction crew gaffe had some voters casting ballots by the light of a lantern.
Those were among a few notable mishaps reported on primary Election Day in Nebraska.
But the biggest change that Nebraskans saw in voting procedures — the new legal requirement that they show a form of identification to cast a ballot at the polls — caused no widespread problems or concerns as of early evening, according to a check with various Nebraska officials.
“This has been a pretty smooth day,” said Steve Smith, spokesman for Civic Nebraska, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting voter rights and democracy. “We really didn’t know what to expect.”
MVP of the day
He said earlier outreach efforts by the Nebraska Secretary of State — whom he called the “MVP” of the day — and advocacy groups appeared to have helped educate voters about requirements under the recently passed law.
Overall, Civic Nebraska as of about 6:30 p.m. Central Time reported an “efficient” Election Day. Smith said about four dozen observers visited a total of about 100 precincts.
Just under 50 queries were received by the “election protection line,” he said.
“Our primary is the state’s first election with the new ID requirements, and it continues to be top-of-mind with voters,” said Heather Engdahl, Civic Nebraska’s director of voting rights. “We have been providing clarity about the new law so that everyone who wishes to cast a ballot can do so without impediment.”
Among issues reported to Civic Nebraska:
- In Omaha and Lincoln, poll workers in a few instances were briefly unsure how to proceed after a voter presented a current Nebraska driver’s license that contained an old address. The new law allows outdated or expired ID cards, as long as they carry the person’s photo and name. Civic Nebraska said each of those situations was “quickly resolved,” and the voters were allowed to cast their ballots
- In Douglas County, a poll worker asked a voter to put away a mobile phone while in the voting booth. The voter cited a state law that allows voters to employ such resources to help in their voter process — and was allowed to vote.
Driver’s license and state ID were most common
Jackie Ourada, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office, said voting across the state had gone mostly smoothly into the evening.
She said most voters have chosen to show either a driver’s license or a state ID.
And now for a little ‘mood voting’ on Election Day in central Omaha
A news photographer said on social media that his Supreme Court-issued media photo ID was rejected. He wondered out loud if he would “risk a confrontation” by returning to the polling place in Otoe County.
Ourada said she was told by the county clerk that it was the name on the ID that caused confusion for the workers, as opposed to the type of ID. The name reportedly was similar to another voter’s name on the roster, the clerk said.
In another instance, Ourada said, a voter in Douglas County showed an out-of-state driver’s license, which is not acceptable ID under the new law. She said the person was allowed to fill out a provisional ballot, which requires the voter to report to the election commissioner within a week with an acceptable form of ID so the ballot can be counted.
Social media also highlighted pro-life messages scribbled in chalk near a polling place at Omaha Skutt Catholic High School.
Brian Kruse, Douglas County election commissioner, said he did not see the chalkings as electioneering violations since no abortion-related initiatives were on the ballot.
SWAT team in the area
Kruse said that voting overall in Douglas County had gone relatively smoothly into the evening, with perhaps the most notable mishap being the power outage in central Omaha that affected two church polling places for less than two hours.
Voting continued with the help of natural light in one church. The other had voting booths in the basement. The Election Commissioner’s Office sent a runner to the facility with several lanterns, and the church also provided lanterns and flashlights.
In Lincoln, a polling place at Mickle Middle School was closed from about 8:20 a.m. to 8:54 a.m. because the school was placed in lockdown, said Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen.
The school chose to go into lockdown mode after learning that the Lincoln Police Department and its SWAT team were in the neighborhood serving an arrest warrant.
Wiltgen said his office had a plan to relocate the polling place to another spot nearby, but the school reopened before the move started.
He said there was light voter turnout at the time, and he did not think anyone was turned away.
Overall, Wiltgen said, voting operations had gone smoothly into the evening. He knew of no problems related to voter ID.
Washing machine woe
An official at Spirit Life Church in Bellevue said morning voting had gone without any snags.
A yard sign planted at the entrance of a long driveway reminded voters of the need for ID. Another sign waited at the door.
“People have their IDs ready,” said Stephanie Warren.
At the American Legion Post 331 in South Omaha, polling official Janet Bonet said voting was light and no concerns had surfaced with voter ID.
She said one woman, a naturalized citizen born in El Salvador, had walked to the polling place to vote for the third time since becoming a citizen. She told workers that her mail-in ballot had gotten ruined in the washing machine.
Bonet said the decision was made for the woman to cast a provisional ballot, as everyone wanted to see her vote count.
“It’s been a good experience so far for me and everybody else,” Bonet said of the day.
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/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/KEHPR74NIZG4XIW2PODTEHNC2U.png "EXPLAINER: How to remove your name from a signed petition in Nebraska")
LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – An attempt was made to end the second day of the Nebraska Legislature’s special session before senators got down to work.
Early in the session, Omaha Senator Justin Wayne introduced a motion to adjourn — something he had urged his senators to consider doing en masse immediately on Day 1 in a sharply worded letter to the body earlier this week.
Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature John Arch addressed the senators before the vote was taken into motion.
“This is ours now to do; only we can pass legislation. The governor cannot pass Legislation. So, it is now our work that we have to do; citizens are watching,” Arch said. “I don’t know about you, but I know in my district, there is a lot of interest with what’s happening here in this session.”
The motion to adjourn failed on a 34-4 vote. The senators went back to work, discussing bills and amendments that have been made over the first two days of the special session.
State Sen. Tom Brant of Plymouth introduced legislation that would redefine terms related to Nebraska’s brand new sports betting, under the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act.
Right now, Husker fans can’t bet on their team when they play at home, and there is no mobile betting in Nebraska.
Critics believe fans will take their betting dollars across the bridge to bet on the Huskers, and make other bets from their phones without walking into the casino.
Officials from Omaha’s Warhorse Casino say that once again, Nebraska will be missing out on millions of dollars every year.
“That’s another $32 million towards property tax relief; we’re very focused on that. Nebraskans have supported gaming lately because they wanted to reduce some of their property taxes,” Warhorse Casino spokesman Lance Morgan said.
Lawmakers will take Saturday off to give the bill drafters time to catch up on dozens of bills that have been introduced. They will reconvene at 9 a.m. Monday.
Speaker Arch says the third day of the session will be the last day to drop bills.
DAY 2 BILLS SUMMARY
Among the other 15 bills submitted on Friday:
State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue put foward a bill on retail delivery fees.
Omaha senators Machaela Cavanaugh and Jen Day introduced bills on homestead exemptions.
State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha introduced a bill to change how state constitution amendments are proposed to the Legislature.
State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha submitted a bill focused on reducing the prison population by allowing early release from parole and commutation recommendations for certain sentences.
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Digital Director Gina Dvorak contributed to this report.
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Copyright 2024 WOWT. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Nebraska Supreme Court upholds state’s 12-week abortion ban and transgender care restrictions
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state’s 12-week abortion ban and transgender care restrictions on Friday.
A lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and its medical director, Dr. Sarah Traxler, in May 2023 claimed LB 574 violated the “no bill shall contain more than one subject, and the subject shall be clearly expressed in the title” rule in the Nebraska State Constitution.
LB 574 allowed Nebraska’s chief medical officer the ability to regulate transgender care for minors, and a last minute amendment tacked a 12-week abortion ban onto it. Governor Jim Pillen signed the bill into law on May 22, 2023.
The Supreme Court Justices peppered lawyers with the ACLU and State of Nebraska with questions about the constitutionality of LB 574 pertaining to the single-subject rule earlier this year.
In an opinion issued Friday morning, the Supreme Court found no merit to Planned Parenthood’s argument that the bill contained more than one subject, affirming a district court decision in 2023.
The state’s high court acknowledged in its ruling that abortion and gender-affirming care “are distinct types of medical care,” but found the law does not violate Nebraska’s single-subject rule because both abortion and transgender health fall under the subject of medical care, the AP reported.
The ACLU of Nebraska highlighted Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman’s dissent from the majority’s interpretation of the single-subject requirement.
Justice Miller-Lerman accused the majority of applying different standards to bills passed by the Legislature and those sought by voter referendum.
The ACLU of Nebraska released the following statement:
“We respectfully disagree with the court majority’s determination, and we had of course hoped for a very different outcome,” Mindy Rush Chipman, executive director of ACLU of Nebraska, said. “But looking beyond the legal arguments of this specific case, it is so important that Nebraskans do not lose sight of the impact of these restrictions. Nebraskans have been harmed every week since the governor signed LB 574 into law. That will continue under today’s ruling. However, this case will not be the final word on abortion access and the rights of trans youth and their families in Nebraska. Despite this loss, we will continue to do all that we can to ensure that Nebraskans can make their own private decisions about their lives, families and futures.”
Pillen, who pushed for the bill to be passed, released a statement following the Court’s decision:
“I am grateful for the court’s thorough and well-reasoned opinion upholding these important protections for life and children in Nebraska. There was a dark moment last year when many feared that a victory for unborn babies was impossible and that the pro-life coalition might break apart. I was honored to partner with faithful allies and leaders across the state to combine the abortion ban with protections for kids against irreversible sex change surgeries. We worked overtime to bring that bill to my desk, and I give thanks to God that I had the privilege to sign it into law. I immediately directed our state government agencies to swiftly bring these protections into effect. I am grateful for their work and for the work of the Attorney General to defend it,” Pillen said.
Attorney General Mike Hilgers also commended the Court on its ruling.
“The Legislature passed Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban and its ban on gender-altering procedures for minors, and we are pleased that the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Legislature’s work,” Attorney General Mike Hilgers said.
Read the full Nebraska Supreme Court opinion below:
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Copyright 2024 KOLN. All rights reserved.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The Nebraska Republican Party filed a complaint Thursday against Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
The complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleges that it was illegal to transfer $96 million raised by President Joe Biden’s campaign to Harris’ campaign.
“There is no provision for any transfer of funds prior to a nomination of president, which Harris clearly does not have,” the party said in a press release.
The Nebraska GOP was joined in the action by 16 other state and territory parties and the conservative group Citizens United.
On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump’s campaign filed a similar complaint.
A spokesman for the Harris campaign told CNN that complaint was “baseless.”
The FEC said it does not comment on enforcement matters.
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