§ 32-618 — Nomination by petition; number of signatures required; signature verification; excess signatures

Nebraska § 32-618

• Jurisdiction: Nebraska
• Ch. 32: Elections

Text

(1) The number of signatures of registered voters needed to place the name of a candidate upon the nonpartisan ballot for the general election shall be as follows:
(a) For each nonpartisan office other than members of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska and board members of a Class I, II, or III school district, at least ten percent of the total number of registered voters voting for Governor or President of the United States at the immediately preceding general election in the district or political subdivision in which the officer is to be elected, not to exceed two thousand;
(b) For members of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, at least ten percent of the total number of registered voters voting for Governor or President of the United States at the immediately preceding general election in the regent district in which the officer is to be elected, not to exceed one thousand; and
(c) For board members of a Class I, II, or III school district, at least twenty percent of the total number of votes cast for the board member receiving the highest number of votes at the immediately preceding general election in the school district.
(2) The number of signatures of registered voters needed to place the name of a candidate for an office upon the partisan ballot for the general election shall be as follows:
(a) For each partisan office to be filled by the registered voters of the entire state, at least four thousand, and at least seven hundred fifty signatures shall be obtained in each congressional district in the state;
(b) For each partisan office to be filled by the registered voters of a county, at least twenty percent of the total number of registered voters voting for Governor or President of the United States at the immediately preceding general election within the county, not to exceed two thousand, except that the number of signatures shall not be required to exceed twenty-five percent of the total number of registered voters voting for the office at the immediately preceding general election; and
(c) For each partisan office to be filled by the registered voters of a political subdivision other than a county, at least twenty percent of the total number of registered voters voting for Governor or President of the United States at the immediately preceding general election within the political subdivision, not to exceed two thousand.
(3) If the filing officer verifies signatures in excess of one hundred ten percent of the number necessary to place the candidate upon the ballot, the filing officer may stop verifying signatures and consider the petition sufficient and valid.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1994, LB 76, § 186; Laws 1997, LB 764, § 62; Laws 2003, LB 181, § 5; Laws 2003, LB 461, § 3; Laws 2007, LB298, § 1; Laws 2011, LB399, § 1; Laws 2016, LB874, § 2; Laws 2019, LB411, § 39; Laws 2024, LB1329, § 6; Laws 2025, LB521, § 44. Operative Date: September 3, 2025 Annotations: This section does not apply to nomination by petition of candidates for office of presidential elector. State ex rel. Beeson v. Marsh, 150 Neb. 233, 34 N.W.2d 279 (1948). A candidate for the nomination for the office of Secretary of State who is defeated in the primary election is not eligible to be a candidate by petition for the office of Auditor of Public Accounts at the following general election. State ex rel. Driscoll v. Swanson, 127 Neb. 715, 256 N.W. 872 (1934). This section sets out a method by which a candidate, not entitled to have his name placed on the primary ballot, may have his name placed on the general election ballot as a candidate by petition. State ex rel. Nelson v. Marsh, 123 Neb. 423, 243 N.W. 277 (1932). This section applies to elections in general but is not applicable to elections under the nonpartisan judiciary act. State ex rel. Acton v. Penrod, 102 Neb. 734, 169 N.W. 266 (1918).