Republican National Committee sues Nebraska over state election law

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Nebraska Examiner

Lawsuit argues the law violates the state constitution by allowing U.S. citizens who have never lived in the country to vote in Nebraska elections
By: Juan Salinas II - June 22, 2026 8:32 pm

LINCOLN — The Republican National Committee and two Nebraska voters have filed a lawsuit against Nebraska over a part of state election law that was meant to implement a 2009 federal election law.

The lawsuit, which names Secretary of State Bob Evnen as the defendant, was filed in Lancaster District Court on Monday. It alleges that part of the state election law violates the state constitution because it allows U.S. citizens who have never resided in the state or country to vote in Nebraska elections.

The law was passed during the Nebraska 101st legislative session in 2010, according to the state legislature website. The law aimed to “implement the requirements of the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act,” which was signed into law in 2009 by former President Barack Obama. It also “streamlines and reorganizes the current provisions in law dealing with ballots for members of the armed forces and overseas citizens.”

The bill passed by the U.S. Congress aimed to expand the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 by providing greater protections for service members, their families, and other overseas citizens, according to the U.S. Department of Justice fact sheet.


the backroom of the Lancaster County Election Commission office on April, 24. 2026. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)

Read more: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/22/republican-national-committee-sues-nebraska-over-state-election-law/

[Igel]

1. The bit of the state constitution at issue:

https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/articles.php?article=VI-1

Every citizen of the United States who has attained the age of eighteen years on or before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November and has resided within the state and the county and voting precinct for the terms provided by law shall, except as provided in section 2 of this article, be an elector for the calendar year in which such citizen has attained the age of eighteen years and for all succeeding calendar years.

versus

https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/101/PDF/Final/LB951.pdf

13 (2)(a) As provided in section 6 of this act, a person
14 who is the age of an elector and a citizen of the United States
15 residing outside the United States, who has never resided in the
16 United States, who has not registered to vote in any other state of
17 the United States, and who has a parent registered to vote within
18 this state shall be eligible to register to vote and vote in one
19 county in which either one of his or her parents is a registered
20 voter.

[jonstl08]

2. Military Dependents

Normally when married most spouses take residency in the military members home state despite not ever living there for tax purposes. So they are saying since military dependents (spouses and kids) may not have lived in the state they cannot vote in Nebraska elections. A kick in the teeth to the military