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Secretary of State celebrates local election officials in finalizing Nebraska’s fall 2024 ballot • Nebraska Examiner

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Secretary of State celebrates local election officials in finalizing Nebraska’s fall 2024 ballot • Nebraska Examiner


LINCOLN — Secretary of State Bob Evnen has officially finalized Nebraska’s fall 2024 ballot with six ballot measures advancing to the Nov. 5 general election.

Evnen said county election officials faced upwards of 600,000 signatures to verify this summer across six different petitions, each garnering enough valid signatures by Friday’s final deadline.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen. Sept. 13, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

“We have met that time frame because our counties put the pedal to the metal and did a great job confirming these signatures,” Evnen said at an afternoon news conference.

The certification also confirms candidates for various offices — U.S. president, members of Congress, Nebraska Legislature, State Board of Education, University of Nebraska Board of Regents, Public Service Commission, community college governing boards, natural resources districts, public power districts, educational service units and reclamation districts. 

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It also confirms the list of judges and justices up for retention.

Medical cannabis signatures

An investigation continues, as announced Friday by Attorney General Mike Hilgers, into what he and Evnen said were “infirmities” or “irregularities” in the signature-gathering process for two ballot measures related to medical cannabis. 

Evnen declined to specify what irregularities might exist, and Hilgers did not outline them.

Hall County officials charged a Grand Island man, who was a paid circulator for those efforts, with a felony for allegedly falsifying at least 200 signatures across the two petitions. Evnen said his office will continue to cooperate with Hilgers.

Medical marijuana legalization and regulation are certified for Nebraska’s November ballot

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Evnen said that even though the ballot is certified, the Nebraska Supreme Court could take up a challenge to the marijuana-related petitions, or any others. He’s said that happened in Nebraska history up to four days before an election, as well as after voters had weighed in, that invalidated ballot measures.

“The fact that we had a hard stop and certified the ballot today doesn’t mean that nothing further is going to happen with respect to the investigation of the signatures in the medical cannabis initiatives,” Evnen said.

Evnen also confirmed what the Nebraska Examiner reported earlier in the day from Hall County Election Commissioner Tracy Overstreet that any invalid signatures, including those from the man charged with a felony, were tossed.

“They were flagged as fraudulent and rejected and not counted toward those totals from the get-go,” Overstreet said Friday morning.

Evnen said there “may” be irregularities in other counties. But when asked by reporters whether he had heard from county election officials other than Overstreet, Evnen said he had not.

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The medical cannabis petitions are also being targeted in a separate lawsuit from John Kuehn, a former state senator and former State Board of Health member. The case in Lancaster County District Court has not been scheduled.

Other legal challenges

Dueling abortion measures make ballot, Nebraska Supreme Court decides

Three other ballot measures also faced legal challenges but the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected them Friday morning. Those measures were on two separate constitutional amendments related to abortion and a partial repeal of a state-funded program to cover private K-12 school costs. Evnen said he doesn’t expect further signature-related challenges on those.

Evnen celebrated the court’s “speed and dispatch” in delivering decisions for cases filed before the court within just the past few weeks.

Multiple justices had questioned whether the court could take legal challenges sooner in the process, not just after Evnen had certified the measures for the ballot. Some of those deadlines are set by federal or state law, and others are constitutional in nature.

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Nebraska Supreme Court lets voters decide fate of school choice law

The secretary said he is looking at whether there can be a way to ease up the timeline. Currently, signatures are due four months before an election and counties must verify the petitions within 40 days of receiving them. The ballot must be finalized 50 days before the election.

Evnen said he also intends to follow the advice from Chief Justice Mike Heavican and Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman, the court’s two longest serving members, that once a secretary of state determines the legal sufficiency of a measure, it can’t be rescinded.

Hilgers, on Evnen’s behalf, said Evnen had changed his mind but would respect the court’s decision but might decertify the measure if the court tossed the lawsuit on a technicality.

“The opinions that the court handed down today are well reasoned and well articulated,” Evnen said.

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2024 ballot measures

Evnen certified six ballot measures for the Nov. 5 general election ballot, which were assigned a measure number between 434 and 439 at random.

  • Protect Women and Children — Prohibit abortions after the first trimester or pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, in the Nebraska Constitution. Future restrictions would be allowed. (Measure 434)
  • Private Education Scholarship Partial Repeal (Legislative Bill 1402) — Repeal the $10 million scholarship program, enacted earlier this year, that the state treasurer oversees to distribute to students to attend K-12 private schools. (Measure 435)
  • Paid Sick Leave — Enact a new state law that would require businesses with 20 or fewer employees to fund at least five paid sick days each year for full-time employees. Larger businesses would need to annually fund at least seven sick days per full-time employee. An hour of sick leave would be earned after every 30 hours worked. (Measure 436)
  • Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation — Define cannabis; legalize possessing, manufacturing, distributing, delivering and dispensing cannabis for medical purposes; and create the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee the new state law. (Measure 437)
  • Nebraska Medical Cannabis Patient Protection — Set an allowable amount of medical cannabis at five ounces; exempt patients and caregivers from using or assisting someone else in using the cannabis; and require a written recommendation from a health care practitioner prior to prescription. (Measure 438)
  • Protect the Right to Abortion — Codify a right to abortion in the Nebraska Constitution until “fetal viability” as determined by a health care provider, with a later exception for the mother’s health. (Measure 439)



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Nebraska softball team hits four homers en route to series win over No. 7 Bruins

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Nebraska softball team hits four homers en route to series win over No. 7 Bruins


LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Athletics) – The No. 9 Nebraska softball team hit four home runs, including three in the second inning, to down the No. 7 UCLA Bruins by a score of 8-4 on Sunday afternoon at Bowlin Stadium.

With the win, the Huskers clinched the series over the Bruins and moved to 26-6 on the season with an 8-1 mark in Big Ten play. UCLA fell to 29-5 (10-2 Big Ten).

Hannah Camenzind accounted for three RBIs and two hits for the Big Red, as she knocked a three-run homer as part of the Huskers’ six-run second inning. Alexis Jensen and Ava Kuszak contributed the other two home runs in that inning. Jordy Frahm was 2-for-4 with a homer and Lauren Camenzind went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Jesse Farrell also added two hits.

Jensen (13-2) threw six innings with four runs and six hits, along with five strikeouts, to claim the win in the circle. Frahm threw a scoreless final inning to close out the win. Brynne Nally (2-1) took the loss for UCLA.

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UCLA loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first, but NU worked its way out of a jam and only allowed one Bruin run.

Frahm tied the score, 1-1, in the bottom of the first on a solo shot to center field.

In the bottom of the second, Farrell singled and Jensen hit a 273-foot homer to score the both of them. Frahm singled and Coor walked to set up an H. Camenzind homer and Kuszak hit a solo shot immediately after to give the Huskers a 7-1 advantage.

UCLA added a run in the top of the fourth to cut the lead to 7-2.

Farrell singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth and advanced to second on a throwing error. Kacie Hoffmann singled to send Farrell to third and Farrell crossed the plate on a Lauren Camenzind RBI single to extend the lead to 8-2.

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The Bruins knocked a two-run homer with no outs in the top of the fifth but the Huskers retired three of the next four batters to earn the 8-4 win.

Nebraska is set for a midweek game against the Creighton Bluejays in Omaha, Neb., on Tuesday, March 31. The contest will start at 5 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network.

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No. 24 Nebraska wins slugfest over Indiana

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No. 24 Nebraska wins slugfest over Indiana


A windy day led to a wild slugfest at Hawks Field Saturday, but No. 24 Nebraska baseball knocked off Indiana, 12-7, clinching the conference series for the Cornhuskers while running Nebraska’s home record to 11-0.

The Huskers scored three runs in the first and two in the fourth to build a 5-0 lead. The Hoosiers answered with three in the sixth and one in the seventh to cut the NU lead to 5-4. Nebraska took control of the game with seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to grow the lead to 12-4. IU scored one in the eighth, but drew no closer.

Drew Grego was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Dylan Carey drove in five runs and hit a home run, while always drawing a pair of walks. Case Sanderson was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a pair of walks. Jeter Worthley added a 2-for-4 showing with an RBI and a walk. Carson Jasa (5-1) earned the win, throwing 5.2 innings for NU. He allowed four hits while striking out 10 and walking five. For Indiana, Owen ten Oever was 1-for-3 with three RBI. Cooper Malamazian was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

The Huskers aim for the sweep Sunday at Hawks Field against Indiana. First pitch is slated for noon with pregame coverage at 11:30 a.m. on KLIN.

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No Kings protests return to Nebraska, draw hundreds and thousands

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No Kings protests return to Nebraska, draw hundreds and thousands


LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – Hundreds of Nebraskans protested against the Trump administration Saturday along Nebraska Parkway in Lincoln, and thousands protested near Northwest Radial Highway in Omaha as part of No Kings demonstrations statewide.

Protesters along Nebraska Parkway in Lincoln on March 28, 2026. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)(Nebraska Examiner)

The third iteration of No Kings protests organized border to border gatherings to vent displeasure at President Donald Trump and his administration’s policy decisions. The Lincoln protest was held on the Helen Boosalis Trail between North 27th Street and North 56th Street.

“I don’t like what’s going on … I know it’s not the world I want to live in,” said Ford Kloepper, a 17-year-old Lincoln resident.

Kloepper said people his age are going to take the “brunt” of Trump’s “mistakes.” He pointed to the recent U.S. conflict in Iran as a motivator to protest for him, as he doesn’t want to get “drafted into a war in the Middle East for no reason at all.”

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Many of the protesters, much like previous demonstrations, held anti-Trump signs with slogans like, “Trump lies” and “Stop Trump, save democracy.” Others held American flags and wore costumes. Volunteers from different groups gathered signatures for ballot initiatives and at least one candidate. One of the petitions sought to let voters decide on a state constitutional amendment requiring larger majorities to repeal or change any law passed by voters. Volunteers for nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn collected signatures to get him on the November ballot. 

People gather at the Omaha No Kings protest. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)
People gather at the Omaha No Kings protest. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)(Nebraska Examiner)

Organizers planned 18 protests across Nebraska. In Omaha, the rally was held at Gallagher Park, with thousands of protesters filling the sidewalks and grassy areas near the intersection of Maple Street and the Northwest Radial. 

Organizers said the spot let protesters draw attention to historic Benson and all of the restaurants, galleries and coffee shops that have made the neighborhood a cultural destination since 1887.  Among the crowd filled with a variety of ages and races was Lorin and Elwin Moseman, waving signs that said, “End Wars Before Wars End Us” and “No Kings No ICE.”

It was the Mosemans’ third anti-Kings rally, and despite the chill of the day, they said they wouldn’t have missed it. 

“It could have been an ice storm,” said Elwin, who was motivated in particular by “the Epstein files and Trump being in them, this stupid war we’ve got involved with Iran.”

His wife, Lorin, said she came to “stand up for democracy.”

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“I want to show up, stand up and speak out about our country,” she said, decrying “leadership incompetency from the very beginning.”

She said the nation needs a presidential job description and interview, and she was not short on words to describe her disgust and disappointment about current leadership: “Shameful, disgusting, exhausting.” 

“We’re in a broken world,” she said.

Nearby, a bundled up woman in a wheelchair held onto a sign that said, “I’m mad about everything.”

Lorin and Elwin Moseman of Omaha were among the thousands of protesters who participated in...
Lorin and Elwin Moseman of Omaha were among the thousands of protesters who participated in the Omaha demonstration on Saturday. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)(Nebraska Examiner)

Sara Peterson led buses carrying about 75 protesters from First United Methodist Church of Omaha. She said people felt a sense of unity and joy seeing the chanting crowd, which she said reflected her group’s makeup — diverse in age, ethnicity and political party.

“We’re not alone,” she said “It’s an exciting day to be a part of.”

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Peterson called the rally a “tangible sign of people coming together … for democracy.” Her group included church members and their friends — some of whom never participated in such a protest or rally before but felt the urge and were nudged “out of their comfort zone to take back our country and democracy.

Since the return of Trump for a second term, the anti-Trump group has organized national protests. Nebraska, much like the rest of the nation, saw multiple demonstrations throughout 2025. 

The group also bought ads in local newspapers ahead of the Saturday protests. Nebraska Republican Party chair Mary Jane Truemper had no immediate comment on the protests.

As Election Day gets closer, political observers have wondered how organizers might harness the political energy, whether the demonstrations might signal a coming wave of change at the polls, or whether momentum will fizzle after the crowds go home. Some have argued Democrats and progressives are good at mobilizing people for large-scale protests but have lagged conservatives in building local infrastructure to affect sweeping policy changes.

Back in Lincoln, Erik Betts, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student, said the political winds are in Democrats’ favor, and he feels the possibilities are endless, even in a reliably red state. He said he thinks Osborn could beat Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, and he hopes the “blue” wave might be large enough to beat Nebraska 1st Congressional District Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, a former speaker of the Legislature. 

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“We need to really show up this time …We’ve got to take this motivation … and make a difference,” Betts said. 

Betts said events like these help him stay hopeful because it reminds him that he is not alone.

“When you are in your own house and just scrolling on social media, it’s easy to feel just defeated,” Betts said. “So I come out as much to show support for everyone else, to feel that maybe a bunch of people agree with [me] and things can change.”

Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Aaron Sanderford for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com.

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