Five people have been arrested in an investigation into alleged fraudulent signatures on three petitions submitted to the Lancaster County Election Commission. Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Ben Houchin says the investigation began July 23 after the Election Commission contacted investigators about suspected fraudulent signatures.
“The Lancaster County Election Commission came to us and said, we believe there’s fraudulent signatures. They came to us right away,” Houchin says. He believes people hired by petition sponsors collected fraudulent signatures and submitted them as legitimate.
Houchin says arrest warrants have been obtained, and five people have been arrested in Washington, D.C., Missouri, Nevada and Florida. Houchin says none of the suspects are Nebraska residents. He also emphasized investigators have found no evidence that any political organization was involved.
“Nothing in our investigation makes us believe any political entity is working or affiliated with this. These are people out doing crimes, period.” Houchin says the investigation is still in its early stages and will continue, with assistance from the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office, Nebraska Attorney General’s Office and other law enforcement agencies.
He says the case also demonstrates the petition review system worked. “The system worked on catching these (people).” Houchin says investigators waited to publicly discuss the case because they did not want to jeopardize efforts to locate and arrest the suspects.
He credits the U.S. Marshals Service with helping take the out-of-state suspects into custody. “They are the reason why they are under arrest now because they are out of state.” Houchin said Friday morning they believe petition circulators were involved in collecting fraudulent signatures, having those signatures notarized, and submitting the petitions for ballot measures in November.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilger’s office released a statement Friday morning. “The Attorney General takes petition fraud allegations seriously and will work with partnered agencies to root it out wherever it may be found and bring those who commit it to justice,” the statement said.
“We are committed to protecting the integrity of the petition process and maintaining public trust. When credible information arises, we dedicate the resources needed to examine each situation thoroughly. Our office enforces election laws without bias, fear, or favor.”