It’s official: Thursday, Feb. 27, is go time at the statehouse. That’s when the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee of the Nebraska Legislature will consider two separate measures about Nebraskans’ voting rights, including voter ID. We’ll be there to advocate for the state’s voters but we need you to add your voice, too.
Here are details, action steps, and information for you regarding both measures:
Voter ID
At 1:30 p.m., the committee will hear testimony on LR292CA, which would lay the groundwork for harmful voter ID requirements at Nebraska polling places. We oppose this measure and have been very clear about why. Not least because the state Constitution says all elections shall be free, and there shall be no hindrance or impediment to the right of a qualified voter to exercise the elective franchise. Voter ID is an expensive, unnecessary “solution” to a nonexistent problem. The only thing it would do for certain is disenfranchise eligible voters.
When and Where: 1:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 27, Hearing Room 1507, Nebraska State Capitol
Can’t attend in person?: Email Sen. Tom Brewer, the chairperson of the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee stating your opposition to LR292CA by 5 pm Feb. 26. Your letter must include your name and address, state a position against the measure in question and include a request for the letter to be included as part of the public hearing record.
Other members of the committee: Sen. Carol Blood, Sen. Matt Hansen, Sen. Mike Hilgers, Sen. Megan Hunt, Sen. Rick Kolowski, Sen. Andrew La Grone, and Sen. John Lowe.
Election Commissioners
The committee will then hear testimony on LB1022. We support this measure, introduced by Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln, which requires election commissioners to be elected and not appointed. In 2019, Civic Nebraska worked with Sen. Hansen to seek an Attorney General’s Opinion on the practice of election commissioners being appointed in our state’s most populous counties. The matter has since entered the courts; here’s our timeline of the issue. Civic Nebraska maintains that all county election commissioners should be accountable to the voters and be elected directly in accordance with the Nebraska Constitution.
When and where: 1:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 27, Hearing Room 1507, Nebraska State Capitol
Can’t attend in person?: Email Sen. Tom Brewer, the chairperson of the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee stating your support of LB1022 by 5 pm Feb. 26. Your letter must include your name and address, state a position for the measure in question and include a request for the letter to be included as part of the public hearing record.
Other members of the committee: Sen. Carol Blood, Sen. Matt Hansen, Sen. Mike Hilgers, Sen. Megan Hunt, Sen. Rick Kolowski, Sen. Andrew La Grone, and Sen. John Lowe.
Thanks for all that you do,
John Cartier
Director of Voting Rights
Civic Nebraska
