Nebraska lawmakers’ changes to voter-approved ballot measures could impact midterm elections

Some Nebraskans’ anger with the Legislature for not following the will of the voters is playing a role in this year’s election.

On a busy weekday afternoon, people with clipboards cluster outside the Lancaster County motor vehicle office asking people to sign petititions. Cory Jeweler, a paid petition circulator from Baltimore, singles out a man walking in. “Hi there, sir. Protect voters rights in Nebraska, make it harder for politicians to go against our vote?” he asks.

The man, Aidan Mosher of Lincoln, hesitates for only a second before saying “Sure,” and signing. The initiative would raise the requirement for votes in the Legislature to change an initiative approved by the people from two-thirds, or 33 of the 49 senators, to four-fifths, or 40.

Mosher said he’s tired of politicians ignoring what people vote for, in initiatives and referenda.

“What's frustrating about all of that, too, is that it's like, what can you do? Because you get out and vote, something gets passed, and then it's getting blocked, and so, yeah, I mean, of course it's aggravating,” he said.

That signature-gathering effort is one indication of dissatisfaction with the Legislature. Another could come in this year’s legislative elections.

Half the Legislature is up for election this year – and this is a Legislature that has pushed back against voter-approved measures on medical marijuana, the minimum wage, paid sick leave and private school scholarships.

Specifically, senators did not support an immunity measure that medical marijuana proponents said was needed to allow healthcare providers to recommend the drug without fear of professional discipline or loss of license. Nebraska doctors are still not providing those recommendations, despite voter approval of medical marijuana in 2024. (Click to see how senators came down on immunity)

Senators replaced a requirement, adopted by voters in 2022, for future minimum wage increases to keep up with inflation. Instead, they approved a 1.75% cap on annual increases. And they authorized a lower minimum wage ($13.50 an hour) for 14- and 15-year-olds. At the same time, the measure updated the 90-day training wage allowed for 16-19 year olds from $5.44 an hour to $13.50, which will increase by 1.5% every five years.

See how senators voted on the minimum wage revisions

They also exempted businesses with 10 or fewer employees from the requirement, approved by voters in 2024, for paid sick leave. (Click to see how they voted on an amendment making those sick leave changes).

And they attempted to institute a temporary restoration in the budget of a private/religious school scholarship program that voters repealed in a 2024 referendum. (Click to see the cloture vote on the budget that would have included the scholarship program.

Arron Kowalski, a Republican running to represent District 34 near Grand Island, said that’s a problem.

“All of these things have passed with overwhelming support, and since all of this is just clearly things that the public want that doesn't hurt anybody, it seems completely outrageous that the Legislature thinks that they can just ignore what the voters want,” Kowalski said.

Ben Blodgett, a Democrat also running in District 34, said voters are mad.

“There is a lot of, if you will, anger there, but they're not being represented like they thought that they should be. People vote for or against those things, you know, for the medicinal marijuana and against the school vouchers. And yet our current representative is voting opposite of the people,” Bodgett said.

That “current representative” is Sen. Loren Lippincott, a Republican in the officially nonpartisan Legislature who is seeking reelection. Lippincott makes no apologies for his votes to change voter-approved measures.

"We've got a constitutional republic, so what you do is you elect individuals that hopefully represent your interest, and go to Washington, DC or to Lincoln, and they listen to all sides of any particular piece of legislation that's going through the Legislature,” Lippincott said.

Lippincott added that initiative backers will naturally present only one side of an issue, while legislators have to consider all sides.

A similar challenger-incumbent argument is taking place in Sarpy County’s District 36. There, Democratic challenger Darin Tompkins said voters he talks to are also upset about the Legislature changing voter initiatives.

“The one that has the most passion around it is the medical marijuana one. In my district alone, it was an 81% approval rate, and there are far too many people that know someone or who are personally impacted by the decisions the Legislature has done that has prevented this from being implemented, and that's where the passion comes from,” Tompkins said.

Tompkins cites the Legislature’s failure to pass immunity for doctors for recommending medical marijuana. Incumbent Sen. Rick Holdcroft, a Republican, opposed that proposal, but sponsored another to provide funding for the state’s Medical Cannabis commission, which the initiative did not include.

“It's kind of interesting that people say ‘You're not listening to the will of the people’… and then they come back afterwards and say, ‘Well, what about this? What about this? What about this? What about funding?’ There was no funding in there for them either. So how are these commissioners who were appointed in the referendum supposed to do their job? They couldn't hire staff computers or do business and so those are all actions we've taken, really, in addition to the referendum, try to make them work,” Holdcroft said.

Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said the fact that medical marijuana is still unavailable in Nebraska a year and a half after voters approved it shows the Legislature is ignoring the will of the people.

“When 71% of people make their voices heard, they organize, they sign petitions, and then ultimately, on the ballot, you know, they cast their vote, and then this can happen -- that we can be in a situation where the will of the people has completely been overlooked, tossed aside, dismantled -- If it can happen on this issue that's supported at 71% it can happen on any issue,” Eggers said.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana published a Facebook post criticizing senators who voted against the doctors’ immunity bill. All those targeted are Republicans. But cuts to the minimum wage approved by voters were contained in a bill sponsored by Sen. Jane Raybould, a Democrat.

Raybould, who is not running for reelection, said the Nebraska’s one-house Legislature has an important role balancing initiatives passed by the people, sometimes called Nebraska’s “second house.”

“The power of initiative is given to the people, and the power to enact changes to those initiatives are given to the Legislature upon a vote of at least two-thirds of all the members. That is a balance,” Raybould said.

What Nebraskans think about that balance may be seen in the election results for senators and ballot initiatives this year.

Correction: The audio version of this story, and an earlier text version, misstated the change in the training wage for 16-19 year olds.