Testimony heard on bill that would change Nebraska’s voting process

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Voting early, turning in ballots to drop-boxes, and registering to vote online — a bill discussed in the Nebraska Legislature on Wednesday would eliminate or restrict all of those practices.

Nebraska State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue introduced LB 541, and he says the intent is to bolster Nebraskans’ confidence in their state elections.

“My goal in introducing this bill is not to rehash past elections or criticize any state office or agency,” said Sen. Holdcroft. “It is simply to give peace-of-mind in our state regarding the security of our elections.”

But supporters of the bill used the opportunity to tell a familiar tale.

“In the year 2020, in that election, with COVID going on, we had a lot of confusion,” said George Olmer during Wednesday’s hearing. “We had people assuming and taking on assumption of power.

“During his recent cabinet meeting, President Trump laid out a clear vision for America’s election,” said Danna Seevers, another supporter of LB 541. “Iron clad security, no tolerance for cheating, and a system where every legal vote counts.”

Opposing voices were heard, too.

“The problem is that Trump has run Republicans crazy, and everything they seem to do is wanting to get an ’A’ on dancing to his tune,” said Preston Love.

Love, a former U.S. Senate candidate and founder of Black Votes Matter Omaha, says online registration and early voting works just fine in Nebraska.

“Nothing’s broken, so why are we trying to fix it?” Love said.

Sen. Holdcroft maintains that he proposed the bill for the sake of being proactive, not reactive.

“We wear seatbelts, we take Vitamin C, we check our furnaces in the fall,” Sen. Holdcroft said. “Not because something has happened, but as preventative measures.”

But several county election commissioners across the state testified that election in Nebraska are safe and secure — and that some of the proposed changes could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“This bill is offering solutions to a whole host of problems that simply do not exist,” said Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse.

Last week, the Douglas County board voted to unanimously to oppose LB 541.

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