Medical marijuana, repeal of private K-12 scholarships exceed threshold for Nebraska ballot

Advocates behind Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and Support Our Schools celebrated turning in thousands of signatures in July to qualify for the November 2024 ballot. Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced Friday, Aug. 30, that while signature counting continued, both groups had collected more than enough valid signatures for ballot access. (Left photo courtesy of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana | Right by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN — Nebraska voters appear likely to vote on whether to legalize and regulate medical marijuana, as well as decide the fate of a new “school choice” law in November’s election, barring last-minute legal challenges.

Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced the unofficial results Friday afternoon, while the certification process continues into next month. However, Evnen confirmed that both ballot measures had exceeded the necessary requirements for verification and will qualify for the November election once certification is complete.

“Our office is providing this update to keep voters informed of where county election offices are in the signature verification process,” Evnen said in a statement. “Election workers are checking every voter’s signature on the remaining petitions.”

Candidates and issues must be certified for the Nov. 5 election in Nebraska by Sept. 13.

Medical marijuana

Crista Eggers, campaign manager for Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said her team was “beyond excited” that Nebraskans will be able to weigh in on the issue.

“Today is a very, very big day, not just for the people behind this effort but for the individuals in Nebraska, the patients in our state, who have been fighting for so, so long,” Eggers told the Nebraska Examiner. “We’re going to enjoy this, but we know we still have a road ahead of us.”

The campaign is personal for Eggers, whose son, Colton, has epilepsy and severe seizures. When Eggers went to pick up Colton from elementary school Friday, he asked her the same question he’s asked almost daily for multiple years: “Did we get enough signatures for the medicine?”

His mom’s response: “Yes, buddy, we did.”

The campaign began in 2019 when Eggers and two state senators at the time, Adam Morfeld and Anna Wishart, both of Lincoln, moved to the ballot box after legislative efforts stalled.

In 2020, the campaign fell short of the ballot box as the Nebraska Supreme Court determined legalization and regulation were two distinct and separate subjects. Opponents of an abortion-rights measure for the November ballot are making similar arguments and urging the Supreme Court to rule similarly against that effort.

In 2022, Nebraskans for medical marijuana didn’t collect enough signatures, so the group returned in September 2023 with two petitions in hand: one for regulations and the other for legalization and to protect patients and doctors.

In July, the campaign submitted more than 114,000 signatures for each of its two petitions.

Eggers said she and her team are “prepared for whatever challenges may come,” including any possible legal challenges once the initiative has been certified.

Initiative petitions require valid signatures from at least 7% of registered Nebraska voters (about 86,500), including from at least 5% of voters in at least 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties.

More than 89,000 signatures have been verified for the two petitions across 51 counties.

Scholarships to private schools

The other measure likely to qualify is a partial repeal of Legislative Bill 1402 from State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, which appropriated $10 million to the state treasurer to distribute scholarships, or vouchers, to families to attend private K-12 schools.

The ballot measure is being backed by the Nebraska State Education Association, the state teachers union that joined with other advocates under the name “Support Our Schools.”

Tim Royers, who becomes president of the union on Sunday, said supporters will not stop working until the measure is on the ballot and voters have passed it.

“We’re thankful for the hard work of all the county officials that have done so much to verify the signatures as quickly as possible, and we’re looking forward to the official announcement that we will be on the ballot,” Royers said in a statement.

Public school advocates have argued that creating a voucher program in Nebraska for private K-12 education poses long-term risks to the state funding available for public schools. In other states, the programs have quickly grown into the tens of millions of dollars.

In July, the campaign submitted more than 86,000 signatures for its petition. Many of the measure’s supporters expressed frustration that the Legislature revised the original tax credit scholarship law and forced them to collect signatures again.

Support Our Schools launched a campaign in summer 2023 to repeal that first new “school choice” law from Linehan: LB 753 . The group’s petition initiative had qualified for the November 2024 ballot until LB 1402 passed. The new law was designed to repeal and replace LB 753. As a result, Evnen determined the LB 753 repeal wouldn’t appear on the November ballot .

Linehan said she and supporters of the voucher program will keep fighting “liberal billionaires” and “unions who want to control where your children go to school.”

“They will stop at nothing to prevent families from having freedom over their own children’s education,” she said in a statement. “Opponents of education freedom will lie, cheat and spend countless millions to control education in Nebraska.”

Jeremy Ekeler, executive director of Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska, one of the groups already working with students seeking help to attend private K-12 schools, said it would be “devastating” to take away the program.

“Opponents of education freedom can’t keep Nebraska families from accessing the school that is best for their children,” he said. “The momentum for school choice continues to grow in Nebraska and across the country.”

Both sides have been preparing for possible lawsuits for months. Privately, people for and against the ballot measures said they viewed the Secretary of State’s announcement as a potential trigger for last-minute legal action against the measures.

Referendum petitions require valid signatures from at least 5% of registered Nebraska voters (about 61,750), as well as the requirement of 5% voters in at least 38 counties.

More than 62,000 signatures have been validated thus far in at least 57 counties.

2024 ballot measures

• Paid sick leave ( certified Aug. 13 ).
• Constitutional amendment to codify a right to abortion until fetal viability as determined by a health care provider ( certified Aug. 23 ), with a later exception for the mother’s health.
• Constitutional amendment to prohibit abortions after the first trimester of pregnancy , with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. Future restrictions would be allowed ( certified Aug. 23 ).
• Medical marijuana regulations and legalization (qualified Aug. 30, pending certification).
• Partial repeal of LB 1402 , a $10 million state-sponsored scholarship program to private K-12 schools (qualified Aug. 30, pending certification).

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