The ballot committee Advocates for All Nebraskans (AFAN) announced Tuesday its final two petitions for the 2026 election season—perhaps saving the most controversial pair for last.
Previously, the group convened in the State Capitol Rotunda to introduce three petitions: one to cut taxable valuations of all property types by 50%, a second to cap annual property valuation increases at 3% or less, and the third to establish a $50,000 minimum base salary for state public school teachers.
This time around, the group gathered in the lower level of downtown Lincoln’s Cornhusker Hotel, shifting their focus to the state’s electoral process.
Eric Underwood, former state Republican Party Chairman and AFAN organizer, said the last two petitions aim to amend the state constitution: one to require all elections be conducted with hand-counted paper ballots, and another to eliminate Nebraska’s split electoral college system in favor of a winner-take-all model.
“This is not a partisan movement. This is a populist movement. This is for the people,” Underwood said, flanked by supporters—notably of conservative backgrounds—including State Board of Education Member Kirk Penner, former Nebraska State Patrol Superintendent Tom Nesbitt, and Seward County GOP Chair Danna Seevers.
The first proposal would mandate that all ballots in Nebraska elections be counted by hand and prohibit the use of electronic tabulation equipment. The group said the intent is to increase transparency and public confidence in election results.
“This is not about changing who votes or how they vote,” said Penner. “It adjusts only how votes are counted.”
The petition states that voter-verifiable paper ballots would still be required and that individuals with disabilities could continue using assistive voting devices, though the final tabulation would be conducted manually.
The second proposal is the latest chapter in the debate for changing Nebraska’s split electoral vote system—awarding one electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district and two to the statewide winner—to the more common winner-take-all method used by other states.
Nebraska has awarded individual electoral votes this way since 1992, thanks to a measure successfully spearheaded by former Lincoln State Sen. DiAnna Schimek.
Republican candidates handily received all five of the state’s electoral votes until 2008, when NE-02 broke the mold for then-candidate Barack Obama. The district repeated this in 2020 for Joe Biden and again in 2024 for Kamala Harris. The stand out nature has lead supporters and election map enthusiasts to dub the district “the blue dot.”
While the subject has become a perennial legislative priority for state Republicans, the issue could be in the hands of voters in 2026. Nesbitt argues the shift would unify Nebraska’s presidential voice and encourage presidential candidates to campaign in the state, particularly outside of the Omaha metro-area.
Ironically, opponents have made a similar argument for retaining the current system, saying winner-take-all would eliminate competition altogether by drowning the purple Omaha beneath the Nebraska’s deeper-red majority.
To qualify for the November 2026 ballot, each petition must collect approximately 125,000 valid signatures, equal to 10 percent of registered voters in the state. Organizers said they intend to rely largely on volunteer circulators but are open to financial support from outside groups—not closing the door on affluent Republican donors like U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts and Governor Jim Pillen, both supportive of past winner-take-all efforts.
While organizers said their petition drive is “homegrown and nonpartisan,” national political figures have taken past interest.
Ahead of the 2024 general election, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham paid a visit to Nebraska to meet with more than a dozen republican lawmakers at the governor’s mansion to discuss winner-take-all.
Underwood also devoted a portion of the launch to conservative activist Charlie Kirk—who was fatally shot earlier this year—recalling his visits to Nebraska to rally support for winner-take-all efforts in the Legislature.
“We’re going to do this for Nebraska. We’re going to do this for the nation. And part of my heart is going to do this for Charlie,” Underwood said.
The group says it welcomes “conservatives, moderates, and principled Democrats”—though organizers acknowledged they have not yet secured support from any Democratic officials.
A small gaggle of protestors took position outside the Cornhusker, on the corners of 13th and “L” Street, during the event.
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- Chase Porter, KLIN News
Full petition language is available at forallnebraskans.org.