Changes to election provisions advanced

Senators gave first-round approval to a bill March 20 that would make several changes to the state’s current election laws.

LB1048, introduced by Gretna Sen. John Murante, would require political parties to file a copy of the party’s plan for selecting national convention delegates with the secretary of state by Dec. 1 of the year prior to a presidential election. Murante said the bill would allow the voters of Nebraska to be the real decision makers.

“If we don’t pass this, the state of Nebraska will not have a seat at the table when it comes to nominating a candidate for president of the United States,” he said. “The voice of the people in the primary elections is the one that will finally be heard.”

Under the bill, the delegate selection plan would require that at least 80 percent of the delegates commit to choosing a presidential candidate based on the results of the caucus or primary election.

It also would require that the delegates are awarded to the winner of the caucus or primary election, or awarded proportionally based on the number of votes received by each candidate receiving at least 15 percent of the votes.

A Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee amendment, adopted 27-0, would require the secretary of state to deliver a copy of the official election calendar to the state party headquarters of each party within 10 days of publication of the calendar.

Committee chairperson Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln said the amendment addressed concerns of both parties.

“There is, in all parties, a high turnover in staff,” he said. “It would be helpful to the parties to have the election calendars to be sent to them directly instead of staff persons.”

The amendment also would allow the delegate selection plan to specify if delegates are committed to a presidential candidate based on the results of a combination of a caucus system and a statewide primary election.

Senators advanced the bill on a 27-0 vote.