Two Abortion-Related Petitions Certified to Appear on Voting Ballot in November

Nebraska State Capitol (Jeff Motz/KFOR News)

LINCOLN–(KFOR Aug. 23)–Signature requirements have been met for two abortion-related petitions to appear on the November 5 general election ballot.

That’s according to Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s office.

Evnen said in a news release to KFOR that barring any legal challenges the two measures will appear on the ballot. Protect the Right to Abortion would protect the fundamental right to abortion for women and Protect Women and Children would would outlaw most abortions after the first trimester, which would be between 12 to 14 weeks gestation. The Nebraska Secretary of State’s office must certify the November general election ballot by September 13. All petitions will be processed and announced before that date.

“I applaud our county election offices and election workers who are working hard to process several petitions and meet important election deadlines,” Secretary of State Bob Evnen said. “Barring any legal challenges, this November general election ballot will host two ballot measures that appear in direct conflict with each other, which could be the first time this has happened in Nebraska’s history.”

The Protect the Right to Abortion petition collected more than 136,000 valid signatures from Nebraska voters statewide. Petition organizers collected valid signatures from at least 5% of registered voters in 47 counties. The Protect Women and Children petition collected more than the same margin of valid signatures, with valid signatures collected from at least 5% of registered voters in 86 counties.

The Secretary of State’s office will hold public hearings on these ballot measures in each of Nebraska’s three congressional districts, as well as produce an informational brochure about the ballot measures. The dates and locations of district hearings will be announced at a later date.

The Nebraska Secretary of State’s office must certify the November general election ballot by September 13. All petitions will be processed and announced before that date.