Lancaster County Attorney candidate Randall Ritnour is calling on County Attorney Pat Condon to request an independent prosecutor oversee prosecutorial decisions in the investigation into alleged fraudulent signatures submitted by Good Government Lincoln.
“This is not a demand that anyone be prosecuted, and it is not an accusation that anyone has acted improperly,” Ritnour says. “It is a request for independence. Let the investigators investigate. Let the evidence speak.”
He also wants someone with no political connection to the people or organizations involved make the prosecutorial decisions. Ritnour points to public campaign-finance records showing Houchin’s sheriff campaign received a $500 contribution from Nebraska Highwater PAC in November 2025.
The filing lists Daniel Bass as the PAC’s treasurer. Bass later became treasurer of Good Government Lincoln, which supports three proposed Lincoln charter amendments tied to the petitions under investigation. Ritnour also pointed out that Condon has publicly endorsed Houchin’s campaign.
“Campaign contributions can be perfectly lawful. Political endorsements are perfectly lawful. People involved in politics frequently know and support one another,” Ritnour says. “The issue is not whether these relationships prove wrongdoing. They do not. The issue is whether they create an avoidable question about who should make conflict-sensitive prosecutorial decisions as this investigation moves forward.”
Ritnour says an independent prosecutor could determine whether additional investigation, interviews, records or charges are warranted—or whether no further action should be taken. Condon issued a statement this afternoon in response to Ritnour’s news conference.
“It is unfortunate that a candidate for public office would use an active election fraud investigation to manufacture a political conflict involving law enforcement to generate publicity for himself, Condon says. “The county attorney’s role is not to play politics; it is to enforce the law fairly. I see no conflicts, only politics in this unnecessary call for costly outside counsel.”