Nebraska 2020 ballot measures

Elections in Nebraska, 2020

• Election date: Nov. 3
• Registration deadline(s): Oct. 23 (in person); Oct. 16 (online; by mail)
• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Recount laws

• Early voting starts: Oct. 5
• Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (received)
• Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
• Voter ID: No ID
• Poll times: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Central time zone); 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Mountain time zone)

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2020 Nebraska Ballot Measures
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2020 U.S. state ballot measures
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Six statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in Nebraska for the election on November 3, 2020. Voters approved all six measures.

HIGHLIGHTS

Four ballot initiatives were certified for the ballot—one to cap payday lending interest rates and three that would together legalize, regulate, and tax gambling at horse racetracks.

A measure to legalize medical marijuana was certified for the ballot by the secretary of state but was later removed by the state Supreme Court citing its violation of the state's single-subject rule.

The state legislature referred a measure designed to repeal a provision in the state Constitution allowing enslavement as criminal punishment.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Amendment 1	Language	Repeals language allowing slavery or involuntary servitude as criminal punishments	a
LRCA	Amendment 2	Taxes	Allows TIF for 20 years for extreme blight	a
CISS	Initiative 428	Banking	Limits the interest rate that payday lenders charge to 36 percent per year	a
CICA	Initiative 429	Gambling	Changes the constitution to allow statutes authorizing games of chance at licensed racetracks	a
CISS	Initiative 430	Gambling	Authorizes games of chance at licensed racetracks and establishes a governing commission	a
CISS	Initiative 431	Gambling	Enacts a tax on any games of chance operated at racetracks	a

Summary of campaign contributions

See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2020

The following chart illustrates how much support and opposition committees received in campaign contributions for each measure on the ballot:

Ballot Measure	Support Contributions	Oppose Contributions	Outcome
Nebraska Amendment 1, Remove Slavery as Punishment for Crime from Constitution Amendment (2020)	$0.00	$0.00
Nebraska Amendment 2, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Repayment Amendment (2020)	$0.00	$0.00
Nebraska Initiative 428, Payday Lender Interest Rate Cap Initiative (2020)	$3,617,804.20	$0.00
Nebraska Initiative 429, Authorize Laws for Gambling at Racetracks Amendment (2020)	$7,328,586.81	$2,180,418.00
Nebraska Initiative 430, Authorizing Gambling at Racetracks Initiative (2020)	$7,328,586.81	$2,180,418.00
Nebraska Initiative 431, Tax on Gambling at Racetracks Initiative (2020)	$7,328,586.81	$2,180,418.00

Getting measures on the ballot

Citizens

In Nebraska, citizens have the power to initiate constitutional amendments, state statutes, and veto referendums, but not constitutional amendments. Voters approved a constitutional amendment for initiative and referendum powers in 1912.

In Nebraska, the number of required signatures is tied to the number of registered voters in the state as of the deadline for filing signatures. Therefore, petitioners cannot know the number of signatures required until signatures are submitted for verification. According to the July 2020 voter registration report, there were a total of 1,222,741 registered voters in Nebraska at the time of the state's signature deadline. The following are the requirements for the types of citizen-initiated measures in Nebraska:

• initiated constitutional amendment (ICA): 10 percent of registered voters
• initiated state statute (ISS): 7 percent of registered voters
• veto referendum (VR): 5 percent of registered voters for a referendum or 10 percent for a referendum that also suspends the targeted law until voters decide the law's fate

The deadline for submitting signatures to get an initiative or referendum on the ballot for a particular general election is four months before that election. The deadline for the November 2020 ballot was July 2, 2020. The signature submission deadline for veto referendums is 90 days after the final adjournment of the state legislative session at which the targeted bill was passed.

Legislature

The Nebraska State Legislature can refer statewide ballot measures, in the form of constitutional amendments, to the ballot. Nebraska requires a 60 percent vote in the state Senate during one legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to a general election ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 30 votes in the Nebraska State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot. The state Senate can call a special election for a constitutional amendment if 80 percent of legislators support the amendment.

Referral of 2020 constitutional amendment

The following table illustrates the vote requirements for the constitutional amendment certified for the ballot, the votes the amendment received, and how Democrats and Republicans voted on the amendment in each legislative chamber:

Nebraska Amendment 1, Remove Slavery as Punishment for Crime from Constitution Amendment				Democrats	Republicans
Senate:	Required:	Yes votes: 44 (89.80%)	No votes: 0 (0.00%)	Yes: 15; No: 0	Yes: 29; No: 0
House:	Required:	Yes votes: (%)	No votes: (%)	Yes: ; No:	Yes: ; No:

Not on the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
CICA	Redistricting Commission Initiative	Redistricting	Creates a nine-member commission of registered voters to draw legislative and congressional districts according to criteria provided by the amendment
CICA	Cannabis Legalization Initiative	Marijuana	Creates a constitutional right to use plants in the genus Cannabis
CICA	Income Tax Credit for Paid Property Taxes Initiative	Taxes	Provides for an income tax credit equal to 35 percent of property taxes paid
CICA	Medical Marijuana Initiative	Marijuana	Legalizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes

Historical facts

See also: List of Nebraska ballot measures

Between 1996 and 2018, the following occurred:

• Ballots featured 73 ballot measures.
• An average of six measures appeared on statewide general election ballots in Nebraska.
• An average of one citizen-initiated measure appeared on statewide general election ballots in Nebraska.
• Voters approved 53 percent (39 of 73) and rejected 47 percent (34 of 73) of the ballot measures.
• Voters approved 47 percent (8 of 17) and rejected 53 percent (9 of 17) of initiated amendments and initiated statutes.
• Voters upheld 0 percent (0 of 2) of the bills put on the ballot through the veto referendum process.
• Voters approved 57 percent (31 of 54) and rejected 46 percent (23 of 54) of legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

Ballot measures in Nebraska, 1996-2018
Type	Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Average	Median	Minimum	Maximum
All measures	73	39	53.42%	34	46.58%	6.1	3.5	1	19
Initiatives	17	8	47.06%	9	52.94%	1.4	1.0	0	4
Veto referendums	2	0	0.00%	2	100.00%	0.2	0.0	0	1
Legislative amendments	54	31	57.4%	23	46.3%	4.5	3.5	0	17

State profile

Demographic data for Nebraska
	Nebraska	U.S.
Total population:	1,893,765	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	76,824	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	88.1%	73.6%
Black/African American:	4.7%	12.6%
Asian:	2%	5.1%
Native American:	0.9%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	10%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	90.7%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	29.3%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$52,997	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	14.6%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Nebraska. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Nebraska

Nebraska voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Nebraska, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nebraska had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Nebraska coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Nebraska
• United States congressional delegations from Nebraska
• Public policy in Nebraska
• Endorsers in Nebraska
• Nebraska fact checks
• More...

See also

• 2020 ballot measures
• List of Nebraska ballot measures
• Laws governing the initiative process in Nebraska
• History of Initiative & Referendum in Nebraska
• Campaign finance requirements for Nebraska ballot measures

External links

• Nebraska Petitions in Circulation for the 2020 General Election