Last Good Government Lincoln petition meets signature threshold

The Lancaster County Election Commission verified over 5,500 signatures for the third Good Government Lincoln petition.

The petition hopes to create a charter amendment allowing those within three miles of Lincoln’s city limits the opportunity to vote in municipal elections.

One of the other two petitions hopes to move Lincoln’s local elections to be held in statewide general election years. It had 5,628 verified signatures. The second wants to establish term limits for City Council members. It received 5,628 verified signatures.

However, Lincoln City Attorney Yohance Christie announced Thursday that the three petitions won’t be on the ballot, saying the group did not turn in petitions in enough time for the city to put them on the ballot.

That response resulted in a lawsuit filed by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers with the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Hilgers previously released an opinion at the request of Lincoln-area Sen. Beau Ballard, who proposed a bill this past legislative session that would allow some people living outside Lincoln to vote in city elections. He also sent a letter to Lincoln officials, calling on them to add the three petitions to the ballot.

Former state tax commissioner and state Sen. Tony Fulton is leading the petition effort.

"These amendments are about giving people a voice and letting all Lincolnites have a say in our city government," Fulton said in a statement. "I encourage city officials to put these amendments on the November 3rd ballot and allow the citizens of Lincoln to vote on them."

This is the second time the petitions for these charter amendments have been submitted. Previously, the group’s petitions were disqualified because more than 13,000 signatures were suspected of being fraudulent. Seven paid circulators have been arrested due to suspected fraud.

Those petitions, along with four statewide petitions, are currently under investigation by Hilgers’ office, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and the Lancaster County Attorney’s office because of large numbers of potentially fraudulent signatures.