Friends,
On a 44-1 vote this evening [May 22], the Nebraska Legislature advanced LB514 – an elections-related bill that was amended to add provisions that fulfill the state’s new ID voting mandate. We’re grateful to our legislators for rejecting a number of floor amendments that would have pulled the bill toward the extremes, went beyond the scope of voter ID as approved by Nebraskans, and likely invited litigation.
Still, we do not consider this a victory.
As we’ve said, the provisions in LB514 are the “least bad” options when it comes to imposing such ID-requirement measures. On Monday, it was clear that senators overwhelmingly agreed. LB514 easily survived a filibuster by State Sen. Julie Slama and now moves to Select File, the second of three possible rounds of legislative debate.
In the days leading up to today’s floor debate, we asked you to reach out to state senators to encourage them to turn away floor debates that would have restricted vote-by-mail – which 52 percent of Nebraska voters have employed in statewide elections since 2020 – and would have built a dangerous framework for redundant citizenship investigations of any Nebraska voter. Thank you for your grassroots advocacy on this pivotal measure.
Thank you, also, to all of our state senators for today’s thoughtful debate. It’s often said that you campaign in poetry but you govern in prose, and that maxim was certainly on display today. Nebraskans who tuned in to coverage at our statehouse witnessed the difficult, complex, and granular work that goes into writing that prose, especially with the protection of every Nebraska voter at stake.
Please join us in thanking senators for their work today. They are carefully considering a measure that will be felt by every single Nebraska voter, a fact that is not lost on any of the 49 individuals who represent us at the State Capitol. They deserve our gratitude this evening.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated on when LB514 is up for second-round, or Select File, debate. Until then, thank you for everything that you do.
– Your friends and neighbors at Civic Nebraska
