Nomination petition signature requirements could change

Lawmakers advanced a bill from general file Feb. 17 that would change nomination petition signature requirements for certain offices.

Under current law, an individual who wants to place his or her name on a general election ballot as a candidate for nonpartisan office must obtain at least 25 signatures from each county that contains at least 100 registered voters in the district.

LB399, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery, would eliminate the distribution requirement and the standard would become at least 10 percent of the registered voters who cast ballots for governor or president in the last election, not to exceed 2,000 signatures. The distribution requirement for the Board of Regents also would be eliminated under the bill.

Similarly, an individual who wants to place his or name on a general election ballot for statewide partisan office currently is required to obtain 50 signatures from one third of the counties in the state. Under LB399, the standard for partisan statewide offices would be at least 4,000 signatures, with at least 750 signatures obtained in each congressional district.

Avery said the bill would assist the state in a pending lawsuit, which contends that current petition requirements violate the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Courts in other states have struck down similar distribution rules because they are based on geography rather than population, he said.

“This bill will go a long way toward eliminating the weakest part of the state’s case in this trial,” Avery said. “The secretary of state says we’re likely to lose if this provision remains in law.”

Valentine Sen. Deb Fischer said eliminating the distribution requirement could discourage candidates from engaging with citizens across the state. For example, she said, under the proposed rules a candidate could obtain the required number of signatures for a statewide partisan office by visiting only Omaha, Lincoln and Norfolk.

“I don’t know if it’s wise that we legislate in anticipation of what a court may rule,” Fischer said.

Avery said the state likely would be required to pay the plaintiff’s attorney fees, estimated at $100,000, if current provisions are found unconstitutional.

“No court has upheld laws of this type,” he said.

The bill advanced to select file on a 31-2 vote.