Nebraska Amendment 5, Authority to Increase Number of Judges Measure (1896)
| Nebraska Amendment 5 | |
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| Topic State judicial authority and State judiciary structure |
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| Status |
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| Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Nebraska Amendment 5 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Nebraska on November 3, 1896. It was defeated.
A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to authorize the state legislature to increase the number of state judges, including the state Supreme Court, by a two-thirds vote no more than every four years. |
A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution to authorize the state legislature to increase the number of state judges, including the state Supreme Court, by a two-thirds vote no more than every four years. |
Election results
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Nebraska Amendment 5 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 59,343 | 56.03% | ||
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46,576 | 43.97% | ||
Although this measure gathered more "yes" votes, a majority of the total 217,763 votes in the entire election (108,882 votes) were needed for the measure to be approved.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Amendment 5 was as follows:
| “ | A joint resolution proposing to amend section eleven (11) of article six (6) of the Constitution of the State of Nebraska relating to increase in number of supreme and district court judges. Be it resolved and enacted by the Legislature of the State of Nebraska: Section 11. The legislature, whenever two-thirds of the members elected to each house shall concur therein, may, in or after the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven and not oftener than once in every four years, increase the number of judges of supreme and district courts, and the judicial districts of the state. Such districts shall be formed of compact territory and bounded by county lines; and such increase, or any change in the boundaries of a district, shall not vacate the office of any judge. Approved March 30, A. D., 1895. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
A 60% supermajority vote is required during one legislative session for the Nebraska State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 30 votes in the unicameral legislature, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot. A simple majority vote of all voters in the election was required to approve the amendment.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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