Advocates of ballot initiatives seek support in York

Advocates for petition initiatives on everything from abortion to property taxes made their case at a meeting in York Thursday night.

The meeting, hosted by a coalition of eight Republican county parties, heard from organizers of seven initiatives. One would prohibit abortion, another would abolish property, income and inheritance taxes. Others would halve property tax valuations, limit valuation increases, and guarantee teachers salaries of $50,000. One would return Nebraska to winner-take all Electoral College voting; another would require paper ballots to be hand counted in elections.

Danna Seevers, supporting that idea, said all the proposals just need enough volunteers to collect petition signatures.

“Think about if every person in this room got 20 or 40 or whatever how fast we could get those signatures. We don’t need billionaires and dark money being deposited from outside the state of Nebraska to influence what goes on our ballot,” Seevers said.

Supporters of another ballot initiative currently seeking a place on the ballot to legalize cannabis for everyone 21 and older, were not invited to the meeting.

It would take signatures from 7% of registered voters for proposed laws, and 10% for proposed constitutional amendments, to qualify for a place on the November 2026 ballot.