Ballot Measures 101
There are six ballot measures in front of Nebraska voters this year – and a lot had to happen for them to get there.
Advocates who collected signatures on petitions had to clear a high bar: 10% of the state’s registered voters for petitions that could change the state Constitution, 7% for petitions that could enact a new law. And 5% for referendum petitions, which ask voters to decide to keep or scrap a recently passed law.
Signatures for every type of petition have to be distributed across the state, accounting for 5% of voters in at least 38 of the state’s 93 counties.
What’s the big deal?
Ballot measures are the most direct way voters participate in changing Nebraska’s laws and Constitution. This election marks a record for the most ballot measures that got on the ballot via the initiative and referendum process, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Past elections have seen more than six ballot measures, but they always included measures that came from the Legislature (rather than the other, petition-driven processes).
Voters now have the chance to shape several policy areas, including a few that traditionally spark heated debate in the Legislature: abortion, medical marijuana and state funding for private school vouchers.
On the ballot
INITIATIVE 434
Abortion Rights
Passing this ballot measure would enshrine a ban on abortion in the second and third trimesters in the state Constitution.
REFERENDUM 435
Private School Vouchers
This ballot measure will decide the fate of the program that awards up to $10 million a year for K-12 students to attend private schools.
INITIATIVE 436
Paid Sick Leave
This measure would change state law to give most workers at Nebraska businesses the right to paid sick time.
INITIATIVE 437
Medical Cannabis
This measure would let doctors recommend the use of medical cannabis and provide protections for patients and caregivers.
INITIATIVE 438
Medical Cannabis
Initiative 438 would create a commission to regulate the private industry to provide medical cannabis to patients.
INITIATIVE 439
Abortion Rights
Would enshrine a right to abortion in the state Constitution, allowing pregnant Nebraskans to again get abortions into the second trimester, as was long legal here.