Protect Our Rights does not quantify the number of weeks for “fetal viability,” though the current scientific standard is at about 22-24 weeks gestation. Current state law, passed in 2023, prohibits abortions after 12 weeks gestational age.

Protect Women and Children would set no floor at how early the Legislature could ban abortions in the future, including an outright ban.

Both proposed amendments include exceptions language: for the life or health of the mother in the abortion-rights initiative and for the life of the mother and in cases of rape or incest in the restrictions amendment.

Should both efforts pass, there could be a legal determination that all or parts of the measures are “conflicting.” In that case, according to the Nebraska Constitution and state law, the conflicting provision or provisions with the most affirmative votes would take effect.

“In this particular case, these appear to me to be entirely in conflict,” Evnen told the Nebraska Examiner in May, when at the time three abortion measures were circulating.

State law and the Nebraska Constitution do not specify which state official gets the final determination of when something is “conflicting.” Evnen said it would be up to Gov. Jim Pillen, who has the ministerial duty to convey what constitutional amendments have passed.

Protect Our Rights

Most of the valid signatures for the Protect Our Rights campaign came in eastern Nebraska, with the broader county requirement coming in a cluster of central Nebraska counties and in Dawes County in the northwest corner of the state, which includes Chadron. Local officials validated 136,277 signatures.

There was also a high concentration in Douglas and Lancaster Counties, where the metropolitan city of Omaha and the capital city of Lincoln are, which are more blue than the rest of the state. 

Accepted signatures came from 16.92% of voters in Douglas County (60,596) and 17.67% of voters in Lancaster County (35,744), the highest percentages for the campaign.

About 71% of the campaign’s signatures were accepted in Douglas and Lancaster Counties.

The campaign had the most accepted signatures overall than in any other petition in six counties: Douglas, Lancaster, Dakota, Saline, Jefferson and Thurston.

According to Evnen’s office, the campaign did collect two signatures in Grant County, but both were rejected.

Protect Women and Children

Protect Women and Children had the broadest collection of any petition, gathering at least 5% of voters’ signatures in 86 of the state’s 93 counties. One of the exceptions was Lancaster County, which fell short by 62 signatures. Local officials validated 136,494 total signatures.

The restrictive amendment petition was supported most heavily in the Sandhills and the Panhandle, with the highest percentage of accepted signatures coming in Hooker County, at 29.55% of voters (159); Wheeler County, at 23.75% of voters (138); and Platte County, at 23.05% of voters (4,717).

About 42% of the campaign’s signatures were accepted in Douglas and Lancaster Counties.

The campaign had the most accepted signatures overall in 75 counties, including Sarpy County, the third most populous in the state, where 14,357 signatures came from 11.43% of voters.

Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans

Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans, Initiative Measure 436, would enact a new state law requiring businesses to offer paid sick days.

Businesses with 20 or fewer employees would need to fund at least five sick days each year for full-time employees, while larger businesses would need to annually fund at least seven sick days. An hour of sick leave would be earned after every 30 hours worked.

Most signatures were concentrated in eastern Nebraska, along the border with Iowa and Missouri, and in the northern part of the state, in a handful of counties bordering South Dakota.  Signatures were also concentrated in a line of central Nebraska counties, between Antelope and Boone Counties in the east to Grant County in the west. Local officials validated 97,557 signatures.

The highest concentrations of accepted signatures came in the state’s three most populous counties:

• Douglas, 44,453 signatures accepted from 12.42% of registered voters.
• Lancaster, 20,758 signatures accepted from 10.26% of registered voters.
• Sarpy, 11,804 signatures accepted from 9.39% of registered voters. 

About 67% of the campaign’s signatures were accepted in Douglas and Lancaster Counties.

The campaign had the most accepted signatures overall in Otoe County.

According to Evnen’s office, the campaign did collect one signature in Banner County, but it was rejected. No signatures were turned in for Arthur, Hayes or McPherson Counties.

Support Our Schools

Support Our Schools, through Referendum Measure 435, is seeking to repeal Legislative Bill 1402, a $10 million annual “education scholarships” program that the state treasurer oversees to distribute funds to students to offset attendance costs for K-12 nonpublic schools.

A petition campaign first began in summer 2023 to repeal LB 753, which was set up as a tax credit program to the tune of $25 million a year. LB 1402 repeals that law come Oct. 31.

In the 2023 campaign, the accepted 91,861 signatures were collected more statewide than seen in most of the initiative petitions this year. That included counties along the border with Wyoming and South Dakota. Nebraska was the last state to pass “school choice” legislation on that scale.

About 51% of 2023 signatures were accepted in Douglas and Lancaster Counties.

After LB 1402’s passage in April, Evnen removed the LB 753 repeal from the ballot, and the Support Our Schools campaign, backed by the Nebraska State Education Association, set out to collect signatures again. Local officials validated 68,184 signatures on the 2024 campaign.

In the second referendum, signatures were more concentrated in qualifying counties and came in nearly every county along Nebraska’s borders with Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. The highest percentage of accepted signatures was in Thayer County, with 13.51% of voters (476).

About 47% of 2024 signatures were accepted in Douglas and Lancaster Counties.

The 2024 campaign had the most accepted signatures overall in eight counties: Dawes, Thayer, Burt, Kearney, Valley, Sherman, Webster and Frontier.