Nomination petition signature requirements changed

Lawmakers passed a bill March 10 that changes nomination petition signature requirements for certain offices.

Previously, an individual who wished to place his or her name on a general election ballot as a candidate for nonpartisan office was required to 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, eliminates the distribution requirement and the standard becomes 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 is eliminated under the bill.

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

The bill passed on a 48-0 vote and takes effect immediately.