Nebraska Require Hand Counted Paper Ballot Elections Initiative (2026)
| Nebraska Require Hand Counted Paper Ballot Elections Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2026 | |
| Topic Election administration and governance | |
| Status Cleared for signature gathering | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Nebraska Require Hand Counted Paper Ballot Elections Initiative may appear on the ballot in Nebraska as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.
The initiative would amend the state constitution to require the hand counting of paper ballots at all elections.[1][2]
Text of measure
Object statement
The object statement on the circulating petition was:[1]
| “ | The object of this petition is a constitutional amendment to require all elections in the State of Nebraska to be conducted exclusively using paper ballots that are counted by hand.[3] | ” |
Full text
- The full text of the initiative is available here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.
In Nebraska, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of registered voters at the signature deadline. Nebraska also has a distribution requirement that requires initiative proponents to collect signatures from 5% of the registered voters in two-fifths (38) of Nebraska's 93 counties. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. However, the number of affirmative votes cast for the measure must be greater than 35% of the total votes cast in the election. This also applies to legislative referrals.
The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 10 percent of registered voters at the time of the petition filing deadline
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures is July 3, 2026.
Stages of this ballot initiative
The following is the timeline of the initiative:
- October 2, 2025: The initiative was filed by Eric Underwood, Tom Nesbitt, Douglas Fitzgerald, Kirk Penner, and Danna Seevers.[2]
See also
View other measures certified for the 2026 ballot across the U.S. and in Nebraska.
Explore Nebraska's ballot measure history, including
Understand how measures are placed on the ballot and the rules that apply.
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nebraska Secretary of State, "Full text," accessed August 28, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nebraska Secretary of State's Office, "Current Petitions in Circulation," accessed January 6, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
