The Secretary of State confirmed on Friday that two competing proposals on abortion access qualify for the November ballot.
A proposal supported by the Protect Women & Children campaign would enshrine the current law, which bans most abortions after the first trimester, through a constitutional amendment.
The new amendment would allow for future restrictions on abortion in Nebraska and is supported by Nebraska’s most prominent anti-abortion groups. The Ricketts family, including Senator and former Governor Pete Ricketts, has donated more than $2 million to the initiative.
Also on the November ballot, voters will be presented with a petition to extend abortion rights until the fetus is viable – usually around 24 weeks. That petition was sponsored by Protect Our Rights, a coalition of abortion rights groups including Planned Parenthood, ACLU Nebraska and I Be Black Girl.
Allie Berry, campaign manager for Protect Our Rights, called the signature certification “an important next step for this campaign.”
“Nebraskans across the state believe in the freedom to make private health care decisions without political interference,” she said. “Now they can make that a reality in November.”
Both campaigns submitted 136,000 valid signatures, meeting the requirement of approximately 123,000 signatures from 10% of Nebraska’s registered voters, including signatures from at least 5% of registered voters from 38 counties.
In the November election, Nebraskans will have two competing lists of signatures on the same ballot for the first time, but it will be up to the governor to declare a conflict.
“Barring legal challenges, two bills that directly contradict each other will be on the ballot in the November general election. This could be the first time in Nebraska’s history that this has happened,” Secretary of State Bob Evnen said in a press release.
If a majority of voters approve both proposals in November, the proposal with the most votes will be added to the Nebraska Constitution.
