Voting Rights Initiatives
Voting is our most important American right. Without it, there is no avenue for change, no way for citizens to truly hold leaders accountable, no way for our collective values to take shape in our institutions and our society. That’s why Civic Nebraska fights for elections to be fair, modern, and accessible – in 2022, we redoubled our efforts to defeat bad policies and initiatives that threaten this most precious right.
Make no mistake: Nebraskans’ voting rights are under attack. In the past year, anti-democratic forces have pushed forward a rewrite of the Nebraska Constitution to hinder tens of thousands of our state’s eligible voters. Civic Nebraska led opposition to these and other assaults, which also included sweeping campaigns to undermine Nebraskans’ faith in our institutions. We organized, educated, and advocated on behalf of every Nebraska voter. In November, we deployed nonpartisan Election Protectors to ensure our elections ran smoothly. We battled harmful voter ID initiatives in the Nebraska Legislature and on the campaign trail, and we redoubled our efforts to bring more Nebraskans, including returning citizens, to the franchise.
In 2022, our Voting Rights Initiatives team’s priorities included:
›› Improving Nebraska’s election infrastructure. We worked closely with state lawmakers on a sweeping bill making meaningful upgrades to our elections, including the establishment of statewide standards for ballot dropboxes, processes to keep voter rolls current and accurate, and methods for ensuring voting is inclusive for all Nebraskans.
›› Countering conspiracy theories. To counter the rising noise about election integrity, Civic Nebraska launched Safe, Secure, Certified – a statewide campaign that builds faith in Nebraska’s elections systems and the bipartisan guardrails that ensure they remain a model for the nation. We also worked with the Secretary of State’s Office to address false claims by bad actors about the 2020 election in Nebraska.
›› Stopping bad bills and initiatives. As the fight to protect voters against harmful restrictions returns to the Nebraska Legislature, Civic Nebraska is working tirelessly to protect Nebraska voters’ ability and opportunity to vote. Casting a ballot freely and fairly is fundamental to democracy, and all of us must be ready, willing, and able to step up and protect it.
414,869
The number of ballots cast in Nebraska’s 2022 primary, the highest participation in a gubernatorial primary election in the history of the state.
45%
The percentage Nebraskans who voted by mail in 2022, more than triple the amount who voted by mail in 2018.
205,000
Phone calls, texts, emails, and doors knocked by our Voting Rights Initiatives team to get out the vote throughout 2022.
54,500-70,000
The estimated number of Nebraskans who will be immediately disenfranchised if the Legislature enacts a strict voter ID measure in 2023.
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