Nebraska secretary of state plans to comply with presidential election order

Secretary of State Bob Evnen said Nebraska will comply with presidential executive orders on election integrity come November. This comes as both federal legislation and executive orders fiddle with voting requirements.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order in March, calling for public mail-in voting lists, verification of citizenship and more restrictions for mail-in voting. Evnen said the order would not impact the primary election, but he does plan to follow it for the general election in November.

“As soon as the rulemaking process is complete, we will comply with whatever it requires in that respect,” Evnen said of Trump’s order.

Voting and nonprofit groups have filed suit over the executive order, which are still under review with federal judges. But Evnen said compliance will be fairly easy for Nebraska.

“Many of the things that the president called for in his executive orders we already do,” Evnen said. “(The order) really asked the Postal Service to kick up their game a notch to handle early ballots by mail better, faster and more securely.”

He added that the order requires states to provide the federal government a list of everyone who votes by mail and requested early ballots, which Nebraska will do. Evnen already handed over Nebraska voter data, including Social Security information, to the Department of Justice earlier this year.

Evnen’s comments come as federal legislation, known as the SAVE act, which would have also levied strict voting requirements, failed to pass in the U.S. Senate last week.

Evnen is in his final months on the job after losing the primary to Republican Scott Petersen. He was elected to the office in 2018 and reelected in 2022. Reflecting on his time in the office, Evnen said he enjoyed traveling to western Nebraska to learn what voters care about most. He also said that he is proud of election commissioners, after the primary election in May went off without a hitch.

“Nebraska is a gold standard for elections across the country,” Evnen said. “I think that Nebraskans can be confident in their elections, that they are secure, that they're accurate, and that's very, very important for our representative democracy.”

Evnen spoke at the Board of Canvasser’s meeting Monday morning, at which he and other state officials certified the results of the primary election.