Nebraska group empowering people to pass legislation through petition process, by passing Legislature

BY BECKY UEHLING

GRANT TRIBUNE 

With the second session of the 109th Legislature being short, and senators focused on shoring up a $471 million budget shortfall, Nebraskans probably won’t see much legislation passed this year. One group, however, is trying to remedy this situation through the petition process.

“The (petition) ballot initiative process is essentially what is considered the ‘second house’ in the Nebraska Unicameral when legislation stalls,” said Danna Seevers, administrator for the newly formed nonprofit Advocates For All Nebraskans (AFAN) that empowers people to get legislation passed through the petition system.

According to the group Civic Nebraska, the petition system in Nebraska—known as the initiative and referendum process—offers a direct democratic alternative to the Legislature, allowing citizens to propose laws, amend the constitution, or repeal legislation passed by lawmakers. In existence since 1912, the system has enabled Nebraskans to approve more than 23 ballot measures since 2004, for issues such as minimum wage, paid sick leave, medical cannabis, and school choice. 

Launched by five well-known Nebraskans in late summer of 2025, AFAN aims to advance five ballot initiatives this year, which are as follows:

1) 50% property tax valuation reduction, a statutory change–would reduce the taxable valuation of property by half.

2) Minimum $50,000 teacher base salary, a statutory change–establishes a statewide minimum teacher salary funded by the state through reallocation of existing equalization aid funds (TEEOSA).

3) 3% property valuation cap, a constitutional amendment–limits annual increases in property valuations to 3% or a percentage tied to state general fund receipts.

4) Winner-take-all electoral votes, a constitutional amendment –would return Nebraska to allocating all electoral votes to the statewide presidential winner rather than by congressional district.

5) Hand counting of ballots, a constitutional amendment–requires ballots to be counted by hand rather than primarily by machine.

Similar Bills, Resolutions in Play in the Legislature

Seevers said there are actually two bills--LB1182 and LB1183--and two legislative resolutions-- LR292CA and LR24CA--in play currently at the Legislature that mirror AFAN’s petitions addressing property tax reduction, guaranteeing minimum teacher base salary, capping valuation increases, and winner-take-all.

Seevers said if any of these were passed by the Legislature, the group would likely shift their focus. Sadly, however, she said, “we don’t expect any of them to get through.”

Statewide Signature Requirement

To put their initiatives on the 2026 General Election ballot, AFAN must recruit Nebraskans to help gather signatures from 7% of registered voters for statutory changes, 10% for constitutional amendments, and at least 5% of registered voters in 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties. Petitions must be submitted by July 1, Seevers said.

“Our goal is to reach into every county and build a strong local presence,” Seevers said. “We believe Nebraskans should be collecting signatures from fellow Nebraskans” to advance legislation that people really want.

So far, AFAN’s efforts are working, with Seevers reporting the group has already recruited hundreds of volunteer circulators statewide. However, more than a thousand are needed to meet the end-of-June deadline, she said.

 AFAN’s strategy prioritizes smaller counties first to quickly meet the five percent geographic requirements, and then unite volunteers to help tackle the bigger counties where more signatures are required, she said.

For example, in Perkins County, 5% of the signatures needed for the 1,866 registered voters is 93, Chase County would be 119 signatures of its 2,385 registered voters, Keith County would be 286 signatures of its 5,714 registered voters, and Lincoln County would be 1,059 signatures of its 23,178 registered voters. Similar numbers for all counties can be found on the Nebraska Secretary of State’s website at https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/voter-registration-statistics.

To sign petitions in a specific county, residents should contact the captain in that county, which includes Melissa Sauder in Perkins County (melissa.sauder@gmail.com), Ron Schmidt in Keith County (captronog@gmail.com), and David Beran in Lincoln County (superdave1955@yahoo.com). AFAN currently has no captain in Chase County and welcomes interested parties to contact Seevers to volunteer.

Founders and No Paid Staff

The founders of the group are former Nebraska Republican Party Chair Eric Underwood, Nebraska State Board of Education member Kirk Penner, retired State Patrol Colonel Tom Nesbitt, media personality Doug Fitzgerald, and Seevers, who is the former Resources Coordinator for the Nebraska Republican Party. According to Seevers, the group has no paid staff, PAC backing, or major donors, giving them more legitimacy than paid people with agendas.

As AFAN’s statewide petition administrator, Seevers oversees circulator recruitment, training, and petition tracking. She has prior experience in campaign volunteer work through the Nebraska Republican Party.

Seevers urges all Nebraskans to educate themselves on the proposed petitions, sign the petitions, and then become volunteers to gather signatures. For more information, visit https://www.forallnebraskans.org/, follow the group on Facebook, or email Seevers at petitions@forallnebraskans.org.