Nebraska is among at least 14 states that enacted voting restrictions last year, passing a voter ID law. Next week, a legislative committee takes up another bill that would restrict certain voting rights in the state.

LB-1211 would reduce the time that voters have to receive, complete and return absentee ballots or vote early in person from 35 days to 22.

Heidi Uhing, director of public policy for the group Civic Nebraska, questioned the logic of condensing election officials' time to process ballots - especially now, when they're preparing for the state's first election requiring voter ID.

"To make sure that all their new processes are detailed in their manuals, and everything's in order as far as the new forms and envelopes they need to be providing to voters," she said, "and doing lots of internal training and hiring to make sure that folks are really up to speed on all the nuances of that policy."

Opponents of vote-by-mail and early voting believe they increase voter fraud, although evidence doesn't support this claim. Less than four-tenths of a percent of Nebraska's mail-in ballots in the 2022 midterm were rejected.

The bill's first hearing will be held at 1:30 p.m. on February 14th in the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

Uhing said people have different reasons for preferring to vote by mail, including travel time to the polls, work-schedule conflicts, and having more time to think about their choices.

"I think that folks have really engaged in this kind of voting and found it beneficial in a variety of ways," she said, "and I don't think it's the business of the state to really be limiting options available to our voters, when what we should be focusing on is ways that we can make this more convenient and efficient for them."

Cherry County Election Commissioner Brittny Longcor said 13 fewer days could make a big difference in mailing absentee ballots and getting them back in time. But she said she believes the change would be especially problematic for the state's high-population counties.

"Like in Douglas County, it will cause a time crunch for the processing of all of those," she said, "because, you know, we have 4,000 or so here to process, where they have hundreds of thousands to process."

Cherry County, population roughly 5,500, has all vote-by-mail elections, which Nebraska allows for counties with populations of less than 10,000.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corp. of New York.

The highly anticipated debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is tonight, and as Election Day inches closer, more attention is being placed on the role tossup states like Nevada will play.

Harris has launched an "issues" page on her campaign website, outlining a number of her policy decisions and how they differ from Project 2025, the controversial policy playbook issued by a right-wing think tank called the Heritage Foundation. While Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025, it has proved to be quite a challenge since many influential Trump loyalists and allies are behind it.

Julie Millican, vice president of Media Matters for America, said the Heritage Foundation has a proven "track record of success."

"They have consistently gotten the majority of their mandates from leadership proposals implemented by incoming Republican administrations, again going back to Reagan," Millican pointed out.

Millican noted in the first year of the Trump administration, the Heritage Foundation touted more than two-thirds of their mandates were enacted under Trump. She emphasized it speaks to why Project 2025 has to be taken seriously, which would revamp or completely eliminate certain federal agencies such as the Department of Education and the National Weather Service.

The debate will be hosted by ABC and will start at 6 p.m. PT.

Millican considers Project 2025 to be what she calls "expansive and extreme," which she said can lead voters to feel overwhelmed. In her perspective, Project 2025 boils down to an agenda of wanting control over many aspects of everyday life.

"There are strict definitions of who it is that can be married," Millican outlined. "There are strict definitions about what women's role is, which is primarily just to have children and raise children, and outside of that they don't have a lot of other worth."

Millican encouraged voters to contrast Project 2025's proposals with their own personal values as it can be an easier and more effective way to determine the impact the playbook could have on the things that matter most to them.


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Oregon voters will decide on a potential change to the state's electoral system in November.

If passed, Measure 117 would create a ranked choice voting system in federal and statewide elections and give cities and counties the ability to adopt the voting system as well.

Melanie Billings-Yun, chair of the ranked choice voting team for the League of Women Voters of Portland, said the system would replace primaries with a single ballot where voters would rank several candidates based on their preference. She pointed out some candidates initially deemed "unelectable" could benefit.

"I certainly have felt that way back in previous elections," Billings-Yun recounted. "Is it safe for me to vote for this candidate? Would she be unelectable? What we've found is that ranked choice voting opens the door to many more women and people of color to be elected."

Ranked choice voting has already been adopted in some localities in Oregon, including Benton County, which adopted the method in 2020, and Portland, which will have its first ranked-choice election this year. Opponents argued the system would be too confusing or complicated for voters.

A report from 2020 found nearly half of the winners nationally in local races under ranked choice voting systems were women, compared to less than a quarter in jurisdictions without ranked choice voting.

Billings-Yun pointed out other advantages to the system could include changing the tenor of politics in the state.

"It discourages negative campaigning and favors candidates who find common ground," Billings-Yun emphasized. "This has become such a problem across our nation but really also in our state where we're seeing sometimes that the whole government grinds to a stop because the sides are in such high opposition."

In the 2023 session, lawmakers approved the vote on the ballot change this November. Billings-Yun added there is another way to described ranked choice.

"In some cases it's called instant transfer so that if their candidate is eliminated their next choice would be considered to be their vote," Billings-Yun explained.


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New findings looking at Native American participation in elections show a mixed bag of news but North Dakota outreach leaders said they are coming off a strong summer of civic engagement.

The Native American Rights Fund last month reported national growth trends among tribal populations for voter turnout, including a 14 percentage point increase between 2018 and 2020. Because of long-standing barriers, there is still a significant gap compared with non-Hispanic white voters.

Erika Red Tomahawk, state and tribal policy coordinator for North Dakota Native Vote, said in responding to the concerns, her team connected with attendees at powwows and other gatherings across all reservations in North Dakota.

"There was a lot of meaningful conversations about the importance of voting, with even some individuals expressing that they were going to run for official positions themselves," Red Tomahawk observed. "It was clear that there was a strong desire to participate actively within civic processes."

She is optimistic the energy from the summer celebrations will result in stronger voter turnout this fall. Overall, the group engaged with more than 200 prospective voters, who received information on polling locations and voter ID requirements. Researchers for the group said Native Americans are an untapped political force, with increasing potential to be the deciding factor in certain races.

Red Tomahawk noted their staff did chat with some individuals who felt a disconnect with the voting process. For groups like hers, the conversations are vital because the goal is to assist tribal voters in understanding their voice does matter.

"Indian Country in North Dakota is huge," Red Tomahawk pointed out. "You know, we have relatives everywhere and being able for them to vote and share their voice as a collective to have more representation, it's very important. "

She added electing more candidates with Indigenous roots paves the way for increased economic development in tribal areas.

Amid the lagging turnout gaps, the group stressed there are still misconceptions Native Americans do not vote at all. Organizers will again try to shatter the myth on Sept. 17, National Voter Registration Day. North Dakota does not have voter registration but tribal members will be encouraged to update their identification so they can cast a ballot under the state's ID law.