Objection filed with Nebraska secretary of state over initiative to make it more difficult to modify voter-approved laws

A ballot initiative aiming to make it more difficult for the Legislature to modify voter-approved laws faces another hurdle before it can appear on the November ballot after an objection was filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office.

The objection was filed concerning the Protect Nebraskans' Initiative and Referendum Powers Constitutional Amendment.

The objection, filed jointly by Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh and former Sen. Curt Friesen, alleges that the petition violates Nebraska’s constitution requiring ballot measures to be limited to a single subject.

A press release stated it’s up to the Nebraska secretary of state to make an initial determination as to whether or not the objection has merit and the initiative should be certified.

“Even though the process of validating the signatures has not yet concluded on this petition, the deadline for certifying the ballot for the 2026 general election is rapidly approaching,” Evnen said in the release. “I will likely be announcing my decision on whether the petition meets the single-subject requirements before the validation is entirely complete in order to ensure that deadline can be met.”

The certification deadline is Sept. 11.

In early July, organizers turned in more than 186,000 signatures in support of the initiative, which have yet to be certified.

Any voter-led initiative that proposes an amendment to the constitution requires 10% of Nebraska voters, including at least 5% of registered voters from 38 different counties. The initiative unofficially received signatures from around 15% of voters statewide.

The Respect Nebraska Voters coalition officially launched its campaign in January, stating that recent voter-approved laws have been modified or delayed in implementation – "undermining" what Nebraskans have voted for.

The initiative would amend Article III, sections 2 and 4 of the Nebraska Constitution — raising the vote threshold required for lawmakers to change or repeal voter-passed laws from two-thirds to four-fifths and adding new restrictions on legislation affecting the initiative process itself.

Jo Giles, an official sponsor of the petition, previously talked about some of the voter-approved initiatives that the group feels state lawmakers have failed to follow through on.

"It's about paid sick leave, minimum wage, and other kitchen table issues that impact our family's lives. But it's also bigger than that. It's about our freedom to make decisions about our lives," Giles said in July. "Too many politicians think they know what's best for Nebraskans, that they know better than the people that elected them. But Nebraskans know what's best for Nebraskans."

The announcement comes amid a mass investigation into Nebraska’s petitions after fraudulent signatures were discovered in previous petition efforts.