Democratic Party primaries in Nebraska, 2022
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← 2020
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| Democratic Party primaries, 2022 |
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| Primary Date |
| May 10, 2022 |
| Federal elections |
| Democratic primaries for U.S. House |
| State party |
| Democratic Party of Nebraska |
| State political party revenue |
This page focuses on the Democratic primaries that took place in Nebraska on May 10, 2022.
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Nebraska, a top-two primary system is used for the nonpartisan legislature and some other statewide races. All other primaries are semi-closed.[1]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Federal elections
U.S. House
District 1
Democratic primary candidates
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.District 2
Democratic primary candidatesDistrict 3
Democratic primary candidates
State elections
State Senate
- See also: Nebraska State Senate elections, 2022
Nebraska State Senate elections, 2022 |
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Other |
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Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 10 |
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| District 12 |
Bob Borgeson (Nonpartisan) Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 14 |
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| District 16 |
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| District 18 |
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| District 20 |
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| District 22 |
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| District 26 |
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| District 28 |
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| District 30 |
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| District 32 |
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| District 34 |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 36 |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 38 |
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| District 40 |
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| District 42 |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 44 |
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| District 46 |
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| District 48 |
Talon Cordle (Nonpartisan) |
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State executive offices
Fourteen state executive offices were up for election in Nebraska in 2022:
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of State
Treasurer
Auditor
State Board of Education (4 seats)
State Board of Regents (2 seats)
Public Service Commissioner (2 seats)
Governor
Democratic primary candidates
Lieutenant Governor
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
Attorney General
Democratic primary candidatesNo candidates filed for the Democratic Party primary.
Secretary of State
Democratic primary candidatesNo candidates filed for the Democratic Party primary.
Treasurer
Democratic primary candidatesNo candidates filed for the Democratic Party primary.
Auditor
Democratic primary candidatesNo candidates filed for the Democratic Party primary.
Public Service Commissioner
District 4
Democratic primary candidatesNo candidates filed for the Democratic Party primary.
District 5
Democratic primary candidatesNo candidates filed for the Democratic Party primary.
Primary election competitiveness
This section contains information about the primary election competitiveness of election in Nebraska. For more information about this data, click here.
Nebraska's primary filing deadline was on February 15, 2022. Candidates filed to run for U.S. House, state executive offices, and the state legislature. The table below shows cumulative primary competitiveness and incumbency statistics by office in this state.
| Nebraska primary competitiveness, 2022 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Districts/ offices |
Seats | Open seats | Candidates | Possible primaries | Contested Democratic primaries | Contested Republican primaries | Contested top-two primaries | % of contested primaries | Incumbents in contested primaries | % of incumbents in contested primaries | |||
| U.S. House | 3 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 3 | N/A | 100.0% | 2 | 100.0% | |||
| State executive | 13 | 13 | 5 | 45 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 55.0% | 6 | 75.0% | |||
| State legislature | 24 | 24 | 13 | 65 | 24 | N/A | N/A | 14 | 58.3% | 6 | 54.5% | |||
| Totals | 40 | 40 | 19 | 125 | 50 | 4 | 10 | 17 | 62.0% | 14 | 66.7% | |||
U.S. House competitiveness
| Nebraska U.S. House primary competitiveness, 2022 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Districts/ offices |
Seats | Open seats | Candidates | Possible primaries | Contested Democratic primaries | Contested Republican primaries | % of contested primaries | Incumbents in contested primaries | % of incumbents in contested primaries | ||||
| 2022 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 100.0% | 2 | 100.0% | ||||
| 2020 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 66.7% | 2 | 66.7% | ||||
| 2018 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 50.0% | 1 | 33.3% | ||||
| 2016 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 16.7% | 0 | 0.0% | ||||
| 2014 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 66.7% | 3 | 100.0% | ||||
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Nebraska in 2022. Information below was calculated on March 25, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
In 2022, 16 candidates filed to run for Nebraska’s three U.S. House districts, including nine Republicans, six Democrats, and one Legal Marijuana Now candidate. That's 5.3 candidates per district, more than the 4.7 candidates per district in 2020 and 3.7 in 2018.
This was the first candidate filing deadline to take place under new district lines adopting during Nebraska's decennial redistricting process. Nebraska was apportioned three congressional districts, the same number it had after the 2010 census.
Incumbent Reps. Don Bacon (R) and Adrian Smith (R) filed for re-election and both drew primary challengers. Former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R) also filed for re-election in the 1st District. On March 31, Fortenberry resigned from Congress following his conviction on campaign finance-related charges in federal court. This resignation came after the election withdrawal deadline, meaning Fortenberry's name would remain on the primary ballot.[2]
Since Fortenberry would no longer be an incumbent at the time of the primary, the 1st District was counted as an open seat in this analysis. This created the first open-seat regular election for U.S. House in Nebraska since 2006. The last time an incumbent lost in the state was in 2016 when Bacon defeated one-term incumbent Brad Ashford (D).
State executive competitiveness
| Nebraska state executive primary competitiveness, 2022 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Districts/ offices |
Seats | Open seats | Candidates | Possible primaries | Contested Democratic primaries | Contested Republican primaries | Contested top-two primaries | % of contested primaries | Incumbents in contested primaries | % of incumbents in contested primaries | |||
| 2022 | 13 | 13 | 5 | 45 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 55.0% | 6 | 75.0% | |||
| 2020 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25.0% | 0 | 0.0% | |||
| 2018 | 15 | 15 | 5 | 37 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 40.9% | 4 | 40.0% | |||
| 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | N/A | 50.0% | 2 | 100.0% | |||
| 2014 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 4 | N/A | 50.0% | 1 | 50.0% | |||
State legislative competitiveness
| Nebraska state legislative primary competitiveness, 2022 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Districts/ offices |
Seats | Open seats | Candidates | Possible primaries | Contested top-two primaries | % of contested primaries | Incumbents in contested primaries | % of incumbents in contested primaries | |||||
| 2022 | 24 | 24 | 13 | 65 | 24 | 14 | 58.3% | 6 | 54.5% | |||||
| 2020 | 25 | 25 | 6 | 60 | 25 | 6 | 24.0% | 2 | 10.5% | |||||
| 2018 | 24 | 24 | 8 | 59 | 24 | 5 | 20.8% | 5 | 31.3% | |||||
| 2016 | 25 | 25 | 11 | 63 | 25 | 13 | 52.0% | 4 | 28.6% | |||||
| 2014 | 24 | 24 | 17 | 64 | 24 | 11 | 45.8% | 0 | 0.0% | |||||
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all state legislative districts up for election in Nebraska in 2022. Information below was calculated on March 3, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
Over half of the 24 Senate districts in Nebraska's unicameral legislature were effectively guaranteed to be represented by newcomers following the 2022 candidate filing deadline. There were 13 open districts where no incumbent filed for re-election, representing 54% of the districts holding elections in 2022. This aws the largest number of open districts since 2014 when 17 incumbents did not seek re-election.
This increase was caused, in part, by Nebraska’s term limit laws, which limit senators to no more than two consecutive four-year terms in office. In 2022, 11 of the 13 open districts were caused by term limits, with the remaining two open districts caused by retirements. In 2014, all 17 open districts were caused by term limits.
Other takeaways from Nebraska's candidate filing deadline can be found below:
- Sixty-six candidates filed for the 24 districts, equaling 2.8 candidates per district, the largest number since at least 2014 when there were 2.7 candidates per district.
- While Nebraska’s Senate is officially nonpartisan, using publicly available voter information provided by the Voter Information Lookup, Ballotpedia identified the partisan affiliations of 63 candidates: 17 Democrats, 39, Republicans, three Libertarians, and four registered as nonpartisan.
- In Nebraska, every district uses a single top-two primary where every candidate runs and the two with the most votes advance to the general election. Candidate filings created 14 contested primaries in 2022, 58% of the 24 that were possible. This represents the largest number of contested primaries in the state since at least 2014.
- Of those 14 contested primaries, six featured incumbents, 55% of incumbents who filed for re-election, the largest percentage since at least 2014.
Context of the 2022 elections
Nebraska Party Control: 1992-2023
Seven years of Democratic trifectas • Twenty-five years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
State party overview
Democratic Party of Nebraska
- See also: Democratic Party of Nebraska
Nebraska has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and the upper chamber of the state legislature. Nebraska's legislature does not have a lower chamber.
State political party revenue
State political parties typically deposit revenue in separate state and federal accounts in order to comply with state and federal campaign finance laws.
The Democratic Party and the Republican Party maintain state affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select U.S. territories. The following map displays total state political party revenue per capita for the Democratic state party affiliates.
Voter information
How the primary works
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Nebraska, a top-two primary system is used for the nonpartisan legislature and some other statewide races. All other primaries are semi-closed.[1]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Poll times
In Nebraska, all polling locations are open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Time and 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Nebraska is divided between Central and Mountain time zones.[3]
Registration requirements
To register to vote in Nebraska, each applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the Nebraska county in which they are registering, and at least 18 years old by the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Citizens are eligible to register to vote on January 1 of the year they will turn 18 before the November general election. People convicted of a felony are ineligible to register to vote until two years after the terms of their sentence have been completed, and individuals who have been declared mentally incompetent by a court are ineligible to register to vote.[4][5] A voter registration application can be completed in person at the county clerk or election commissioner's office, the Department of Motor Vehicles, or other state agencies. In-person registration must be completed by the third Friday preceding the election if completed at the DMV or other state agencies. In-person registration at county election offices must be completed by 6 p.m. on the second Friday before the election. Applications returned by mail must be postmarked by the third Friday before the election.[6] Online applications must be submitted by midnight on the third Friday before the election.[7]
Automatic registration
Nebraska does not practice automatic voter registration.
Online registration
- See also: Online voter registration
Nebraska has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. The Nebraska State Senate enacted legislation allowing online voter registration in 2014, and the system was implemented in 2015.[8]
Same-day registration
Nebraska does not allow same-day voter registration.
Residency requirements
In Nebraska, citizens can register to vote the day they become residents of the state.[6]
Verification of citizenship
Nebraska does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration.
Verifying your registration
The Voter View site, run by the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.
Voter ID requirements
Nebraska does not require voters to present identification while voting.
Initiative 432, approved by Nebraska voters in November 2022, amended Article I of the state constitution to require voters to present valid photo identification in order to vote. Governor Jim Pillen (R) signed Legislative Bill 514 into law on June 1, 2023, in order to implement this policy change. Due to this legislation, Nebraska's voter ID requirement will take effect on April 1, 2024, allowing implementation in time for the state's 2024 primary.[9][10]
Early voting
Nebraska permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
Absentee voting
The state of Nebraska refers to its no-excuse absentee voting option as early voting. All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Nebraska. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.[11]
The last day to request an absentee ballot to be mailed is the Wednesday prior to Election Day at 4 p.m (CST). A returned absentee ballot must then be received by election officials by 8 p.m. (CST) on Election Day.[11]
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
One of 93 Nebraska counties—1.08 percent—is a Pivot County. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
| Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Trump margin of victory in 2016 | Obama margin of victory in 2012 | Obama margin of victory in 2008 | ||||
| Thurston County, Nebraska | 5.94% | 13.91% | 6.96% | ||||
In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Nebraska with 58.7 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 33.7 percent. In presidential elections between 1868 and 2016, Nebraska voted Republican 82 percent of the time and Democratic 18 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Nebraska voted Republican all five times.[12]
Presidential results by legislative district
The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state Senate districts in Nebraska. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[13][14]
| In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 10 out of 49 state Senate districts in Nebraska with an average margin of victory of 26.2 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 12 out of 49 state Senate districts in Nebraska with an average margin of victory of 22.8 points. Clinton won one district controlled by a Republican heading into the 2018 elections. |
| In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 39 out of 49 state Senate districts in Nebraska with an average margin of victory of 31.1 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 37 out of 49 state Senate districts in Nebraska with an average margin of victory of 38.3 points. Trump won five districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections. |
| 2016 presidential results by state Senate District | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | Party Control |
| 1 | 35.00% | 62.82% | R+27.8 | 25.56% | 68.52% | R+43 | R |
| 2 | 34.70% | 63.63% | R+28.9 | 28.10% | 65.62% | R+37.5 | R |
| 3 | 39.04% | 59.04% | R+20 | 36.88% | 55.76% | R+18.9 | D |
| 4 | 33.37% | 65.51% | R+32.1 | 37.83% | 56.86% | R+19 | R |
| 5 | 56.53% | 41.59% | D+14.9 | 53.64% | 40.42% | D+13.2 | D |
| 6 | 44.02% | 54.75% | R+10.7 | 49.08% | 45.79% | D+3.3 | R |
| 7 | 63.42% | 34.32% | D+29.1 | 63.88% | 29.08% | D+34.8 | D |
| 8 | 61.53% | 36.52% | D+25 | 63.44% | 29.78% | D+33.7 | D |
| 9 | 58.49% | 39.32% | D+19.2 | 61.55% | 31.87% | D+29.7 | D |
| 10 | 45.04% | 53.54% | R+8.5 | 44.08% | 50.23% | R+6.1 | I |
| 11 | 91.12% | 8.07% | D+83.1 | 85.83% | 10.84% | D+75 | I |
| 12 | 43.61% | 54.71% | R+11.1 | 42.37% | 51.31% | R+8.9 | R |
| 13 | 64.84% | 33.83% | D+31 | 61.33% | 33.93% | D+27.4 | D |
| 14 | 37.62% | 60.56% | R+22.9 | 36.43% | 56.65% | R+20.2 | R |
| 15 | 38.07% | 60.36% | R+22.3 | 29.77% | 65.08% | R+35.3 | D |
| 16 | 31.13% | 67.37% | R+36.2 | 23.45% | 70.90% | R+47.4 | R |
| 17 | 43.76% | 54.47% | R+10.7 | 33.78% | 61.06% | R+27.3 | R |
| 18 | 44.60% | 54.31% | R+9.7 | 45.14% | 48.75% | R+3.6 | R |
| 19 | 25.28% | 72.70% | R+47.4 | 19.05% | 75.26% | R+56.2 | R |
| 20 | 42.76% | 55.71% | R+13 | 45.35% | 48.92% | R+3.6 | R |
| 21 | 46.85% | 51.27% | R+4.4 | 40.87% | 51.98% | R+11.1 | R |
| 22 | 23.32% | 75.02% | R+51.7 | 18.05% | 77.74% | R+59.7 | R |
| 23 | 31.22% | 66.98% | R+35.8 | 23.17% | 71.65% | R+48.5 | R |
| 24 | 26.29% | 72.16% | R+45.9 | 20.95% | 73.47% | R+52.5 | R |
| 25 | 38.80% | 59.40% | R+20.6 | 41.24% | 53.38% | R+12.1 | R |
| 26 | 52.21% | 46.11% | D+6.1 | 46.82% | 45.23% | D+1.6 | D |
| 27 | 52.75% | 45.63% | D+7.1 | 50.52% | 42.64% | D+7.9 | D |
| 28 | 60.87% | 37.83% | D+23 | 59.15% | 33.04% | D+26.1 | D |
| 29 | 47.69% | 50.58% | R+2.9 | 49.38% | 43.97% | D+5.4 | D |
| 30 | 38.34% | 59.25% | R+20.9 | 31.53% | 62.47% | R+30.9 | R |
| 31 | 33.78% | 65.04% | R+31.3 | 36.93% | 57.43% | R+20.5 | D |
| 32 | 35.71% | 62.38% | R+26.7 | 27.09% | 67.12% | R+40 | L |
| 33 | 31.50% | 66.71% | R+35.2 | 24.02% | 70.78% | R+46.8 | R |
| 34 | 27.77% | 70.53% | R+42.8 | 20.10% | 75.21% | R+55.1 | R |
| 35 | 39.62% | 58.44% | R+18.8 | 33.52% | 60.87% | R+27.3 | D |
| 36 | 24.72% | 73.31% | R+48.6 | 19.26% | 75.74% | R+56.5 | R |
| 37 | 28.68% | 69.17% | R+40.5 | 24.94% | 68.00% | R+43.1 | R |
| 38 | 23.21% | 74.90% | R+51.7 | 15.08% | 80.37% | R+65.3 | R |
| 39 | 29.09% | 69.93% | R+40.8 | 31.42% | 63.56% | R+32.1 | R |
| 40 | 22.84% | 75.26% | R+52.4 | 14.16% | 81.28% | R+67.1 | R |
| 41 | 23.54% | 74.61% | R+51.1 | 14.72% | 81.15% | R+66.4 | R |
| 42 | 28.61% | 68.98% | R+40.4 | 18.33% | 76.53% | R+58.2 | R |
| 43 | 23.14% | 74.74% | R+51.6 | 14.87% | 80.38% | R+65.5 | R |
| 44 | 18.45% | 80.00% | R+61.6 | 12.02% | 84.03% | R+72 | R |
| 45 | 40.96% | 57.13% | R+16.2 | 37.00% | 55.32% | R+18.3 | D |
| 46 | 60.88% | 37.77% | D+23.1 | 53.57% | 38.24% | D+15.3 | D |
| 47 | 21.99% | 75.82% | R+53.8 | 13.60% | 81.46% | R+67.9 | R |
| 48 | 30.41% | 67.81% | R+37.4 | 22.76% | 71.50% | R+48.7 | R |
| 49 | 34.76% | 63.76% | R+29 | 34.09% | 59.61% | R+25.5 | R |
| Total | 38.21% | 60.08% | R+21.9 | 34.35% | 59.89% | R+25.5 | - |
| Source: Daily Kos | |||||||
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ KMTV, "Fortenberry resignation sets up unique situation with special election," March 28, 2022
- ↑ Nebraska Statutes, "Section 32-908," accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “Nebraska Voter Registration Background,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “Felon Voting Rights FAQ,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Nebraska Secretary of State, “Voter Information Frequently Asked Questions,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “Online Voter Registration Frequently Asked Questions,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Omaha World-Herald, “Online voter registration is coming to Nebraska,” September 5, 2015
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Full text," accessed June 8, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Election Day FAQ," accessed June 8, 2023
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Nebraska Secretary of State, “Early Voting,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ 270towin.com, "Nebraska," accessed July 30, 2017
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
