This is the week. On Thursday – Feb. 27 – the Nebraska Legislature’s Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee will consider a resolution that would usher in harmful voter ID laws in our state. We oppose this measure and have been very clear about why. We need your voice to ensure this is as far as it goes.
Here’s what you can do.
Email Sen. Tom Brewer, the committee’s chairman, to respectfully register your opposition to LR292CA by 5 pm Feb. 26. To be part of the public hearing record, your letter must include your name and address, state a position against the measure and include a request for the letter to be included in the record.
Here are some points to share.
Keep in mind that the best thing to do is express yourself in your email to the committee chair in your own words.
> Our state constitution has enshrined the right to vote without burden. It says that 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.
> Nebraskans shouldn’t have to bear the cost of presenting a current, government-issued ID at their polling places simply to receive a ballot. That’s akin to a poll tax, which has a disgraceful history of placing the ballot out of reach for many Americans.
> Making the IDs “free” would be an expensive and unnecessary solution to a nonexistent problem. The most recent failed voter ID measure to be considered in Nebraska, in 2018, was estimated to cost $2.9 million to start and about $750,000 a year to maintain.
> At a time when confidence in democracy is shaken, our state leaders can consider ways to bring more Nebraskans into civic life, not making it harder for them to vote.
> Voter ID disproportionately affects those living in poverty, rural seniors, and members of traditionally marginalized communities. That is undemocratic.
> No one can point to a problem involving voter impersonation fraud in Nebraska’s electoral history. Voter ID is a solution in desperate search of a problem.
> Voter ID measures never result in good policymaking or more secure elections. What they are certain to do, however, is disenfranchise otherwise-eligible voters.
> This proposed constitutional amendment, just like its failed predecessors, is expensive and unnecessary. And it violates Nebraska values.
Here’s what else you can do.
> The other members of the committee are Sen. Carol Blood, Sen. Matt Hansen, Sen. Mike Hilgers, Sen. Megan Hunt, Sen. Rick Kolowski, Sen. Andrew La Grone, and Sen. John Lowe. You can also email them to remind them that voter ID is not a Nebraska value.
> You can attend the hearing at 1:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 27. It will take place in Hearing Room 1507 at the Nebraska State Capitol, though seating will be limited. You can also watch a live stream here, and follow Civic Nebraska on Twitter for updates.
> And, you can always donate to Civic Nebraska to ensure our Voting Rights Initiatives can counter the organized, well-funded efforts to restrict the vote.
Thank you for all that you do.
John Cartier
Director of Voting Rights, Civic Nebraska
