Nebraska senators reject bid to cut Secretary of State’s budget after criticism for sharing voter data

State senators on Tuesday rejected a bid to remove $250,000 from Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s budget to fill the $125 million budget deficit. Some lawmakers wanted to make the cut after Evnen gave sensitive Nebraska voter details to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Evnen last month handed over a range of information requested by the Trump administration, including names, addresses, birth dates and the last four digits of voters’ Social Security numbers.

Sen. Danielle Conrad pitched the measure, and several of her colleagues supported it. They criticized Evnen’s sharing of private voter information with the federal government.

“If we’re asking Nebraskans to do more with less, then the Secretary of State can do the same,” Conrad said.

Proponents of the cut argued that the legislature must use its oversight on the budget. Many said their constituents have been calling, concerned about where their information may go.

“It is nonsensical,” Sen. John Cavanaugh said of Evnen’s sharing voter data. “It is unjustified, it is unsubstantiated and it is designed to have a chilling effect (on voters).”

Opponents ultimately killed the initiative, pointing out that this particular portion of Evnen’s budget is set to cover rising health insurance premiums. Even some who took issue with the data being shared said health insurance costs are a top concern, and it is paramount to make sure people don’t lose coverage.

Sen. Robert Clements, who chairs the Appropriation Committee, said the secretary of state must cover the health insurance increases. He said if the legislature didn’t approve the funding increase, it will have to come from elsewhere in the budget, potentially through layoffs. Senator Kathleen Kauth dismissed senators’ concerns about voter privacy, arguing that the government already has access to voter data.

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