The Secretary of State’s office announced that the Voter ID Constitutional Amendment: Initiative Measure 432 has qualified for the ballot. The issue of required Voter ID has appeared seven times before the Nebraska legislature. However, due to the unique characteristics of the non-partisan Nebraska Unicameral, it has been blocked by a small number of liberal Republican and Democratic Senators every time. Thanks to a petition drive bankrolled by Marlene Ricketts, it is now up to the voters to make it a constitutional requirement to show a valid photographic identification to cast a vote.
This is not the first time that petition drives have worked around the dysfunctionality of the state’s legislative system: Reinstating the death penalty, regulating payday lenders, expanding Medicaid, and legalizing casino gambling, for better or worse, have all been approved by Cornhusker voters.
Also on the November ballot will be an initiative to increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2026. The current minimum wage is $9. If the initiative passes, it would rise to $10.50 in January 2023.
The Secretary of State’s office is, as required by law, holding public hearings in each of Nebraska’s three Congressional Districts. The first is on October 6 in North Platte, the second on October 11 in Omaha, and the third in Lincoln on October 18.
