Ballot Qualifications & Schedule
Date initiative language can be submitted: Any time
Signatures are tied to vote of which office: Number of registered voters.
Current signatures total requirements: For statutes 7% of registered voters
at the time signatures are submitted and for amendments 10% of the
registered voters and for a popular referendum 5%. For a referendum that
suspends a law from taking effect, 10% of the registered voters must sign
the petition. The exact number needed is hard to calculate, as it depends
on the number of registered voters there are in the future – at the time the
signatures are submitted. However, as an estimate 80,992 signatures will
be needed for a statute and 115,703 for amendment. (These estimates
are based on the number of registered voters in November of 2000.)
Distribution Requirement: 5% must be gathered in 38 of 93 counties.
Circulation period: 1 year
Do circulators have to be residents: No
Date when signatures are due for certification: Initiative petition signatures
must be submitted to the Secretary of State no later than four months prior
to the general election.
Signature verification process: Petitions are turned into the Secretary of
State, who then gives the petitions to the respective counties to verify the
signatures. Each signature is compared with the voter registration records.
Single-subject requirement: Nebraska has a strict single-subject
requirement.
Legislative tampering: Legislature can repeal and amend initiatives.
Excerpted from the Initiative & Referendum Almanac by M. Dane Waters.