A group seeking major changes to Lincoln city elections says it has submitted enough petition signatures to place three proposed City Charter amendments before voters in November.
Good Government Lincoln announced Monday that it turned in more than 9,750 signatures for each proposal. The group is led by Lincoln business owner and former Republican state senator and state tax commissioner Tony Fulton.
The signatures must still be reviewed and certified before the amendments qualify for the ballot. Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen previously told the Nebraska Examiner that each petition would need just under 5,000 valid signatures. The deadline for political subdivisions to certify ballot issues for the Nov. 3 general election is Sept. 1.
The three proposals would:
* Move Lincoln’s municipal elections from odd-numbered years to the same even-numbered-year cycle as state and federal elections, beginning in 2028.
* Limit City Council members to two consecutive four-year terms. Terms beginning before 2027 would not count toward the limit.
* Allow eligible residents of Lincoln’s three-mile extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction, or ETJ, to vote in city elections other than bond elections.
“Lincolnites showed up for good government,” Fulton said in a statement. “The support we saw at the doors and in our neighborhoods proves that people are ready for a city government that is more accountable, more accessible, and more representative of the people it serves.”
The election-date proposal would create unusually short and long transition terms. The mayor and four district council members elected in 2027 would serve until the 2028 election. Three at-large council members elected in 2025 would have their terms extended until 2030.
Supporters argue that holding city elections alongside state and federal contests would increase voter participation. Critics contend the transition would change the terms voters expected when electing city officials.
The ETJ amendment would extend voting eligibility to residents living outside Lincoln’s corporate limits but within the three-mile area where the city exercises zoning authority. Those residents are subject to some city land-use regulations but do not pay the same city property taxes as people living inside Lincoln. Approximately 10,000 people live in the affected area, according to the Nebraska Examiner.
Supporters describe that proposal as giving representation to people regulated by city government. Opponents have characterized it as “representation without taxation.”
Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird has strongly criticized the petition campaign. Her campaign previously accused the organizers of trying to change election rules for political advantage. The election-date amendment could shorten a third Gaylor Baird term if she runs and wins in 2027 because the mayor’s office would be placed on the ballot again in 2028.
Fulton said submitting the signatures is “a big step toward giving Lincoln voters the final say.”
The Plains Sentinel reports campaign filings show more than $50,000 has been raised in support of each proposed amendment. Election officials must now determine whether each petition contains enough valid signatures to advance.