Nebraska Governor Vetoes Bill that Crimped Petitioning

On February 13, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman vetoed LD 39. LD 39 made it illegal for non-residents of Nebraska to circulate any petitions in Nebraska. It also made it illegal for anyone to pay anyone on a per-signature basis for petitioning. Heineman is a Republican. He is very popular; he was elected in November 2006 with 73.4% of the vote.

There is a danger that the unicameral State Senate will override the Governor’s veto. The original vote was 31-14, with 4 Senators not voting. If you live in Nebraska, please ask your State Senator to uphold the veto. Thanks to Sean Haugh for this news. UPDATE: the vote on whether the Governor’s veto will be overriden is set for Tuesday, February 19.


Comments

Nebraska Governor Vetoes Bill that Crimped Petitioning — No Comments

  1. I think it’s sad that instead of loosening restrictive ballot access laws, we cheer when laws which would make ballot access even more restrictive are vetoed.

    I guess nothing will happen until something big happens to really break the duopoly on American politics.

  2. if a resident was afraid of collecting petition signatures on a particular subject,
    then people would be hoping and praying
    for a non-resident to have the guts to do it.

    I have spoken up on certain subjects in Vermont and have been treated very badly for doing so.

    I can understand perfectly that people would want a non-resident to come in and help them to speak up.

    For example, I wrote a letter to the editor in a local paper,
    http://www.messagefortheweek.com titled,
    “Separation of Church & State: How it Relates to Presidential Election”
    and it was published in the Jan. 30 – Feb. 5, 2008 edition of the weekly paper,
    and on Feb. 6, 2008 my medical doctor, Dr. Mitchell Miller, (802) 228-7000 of Ludlow, VT, cancelled my monthly appointment.

    I complained in an online form to Governor James Douglas (contact the Governor online form)
    and Dr. Miller came to my home on Saturday, Feb. 9 and said,
    “nice people can take a hint”
    and he quickly wrote my prescriptions,
    which I needed because I need my regular herpes suppressant medicine,
    and that’s pretty tacky to leave me without it, and he left without giving me another appointment, and I think people need to know that just because I spoke up on some issues that I’m being persecuted for expressing my freedom of speech,
    so I can understand why it is necessary sometimes to have out of state people come in and help people to speak up,
    to circulate petitions that locals would be afraid to circulate.
    Cris Ericson http://crisericson.com

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