Committee advances one-word tweak to Nebraska Constitution on citizen voting

— Zach Wendling Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — A legislative committee advanced a proposed amendment Wednesday that would change one word to two in the Nebraska Constitution about only citizens voting in elections.

Citizens are the only voters allowed already under the state constitution and state law.

The Nebraska Constitution gives voting rights to “every” eligible U.S. citizen at least 18 years old in accordance with other sections of law. Legislative Resolution 283CA, from State Sen. Barry DeKay of Niobrara, would change the word “every” in Article VI, Section 1 to “only a” citizen could vote.

Part of the push is around some localities in other states that allow noncitizens to vote in some local elections, such as Washington, D.C. and some municipalities in Vermont, Maryland and California.

Legislative supporters said a future Nebraska Legislature or court could interpret the state’s constitutional language loosely and find a loophole. Opponents argued that such an interpretation hasn’t happened elsewhere.

Multiple members of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee acknowledged little change either way under DeKay’s proposal and affirmed that noncitizens are not voting in Nebraska elections.

The committee advanced the bill to the full Legislature, splitting 5-3 along ideological lines. All five Republicans voted in favor. State Sen. Dunixi Gureca of Omaha, a Democrat, confirmed his opposition via text to the Nebraska Examiner. He was presenting a bill in another hearing at the time of the vote.

“This should be a bipartisan issue that everybody should be on board [with] … saying, ‘Hey, everybody, that a citizen should have the right to vote,’” DeKay told the Examiner previously.

DeKay could not be reached for comment after Wednesday’s vote. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen supports DeKay’s proposal.

State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, a progressive registered nonpartisan, said she didn’t think the legislation was necessary. She described it as “too hot” and “too spicy” and worried it could increase the temperature toward immigrants.

State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha. March 31, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) State Sen. Bob Andersen of Sarpy County, committee vice chair and one of six Republicans to cosponsor DeKay’s resolution, said he viewed the change as administrative. He said he understands Hunt is “hypersensitive” to immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and elsewhere but that wasn’t the point of DeKay’s resolution.

Hunt said she understood he thinks that.

State Sen. Dan Lonowski of Hastings wondered whether putting the question to voters could have the opposite effect, as Hunt said, and State Sen. Dave Wordekemper of Fremont said if people vote it down, nothing changes, but if it moves forward, it solidifies the state’s stance. Both are Republicans.

Hunt cautioned that the resolution could affect the possible political environment in the lead-up to the Nov. 3 ballot, should the full Legislature agree.

State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, who is running in the crowded Democratic field for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, said he generally agreed with Hunt that the resolution wasn’t necessary. He said he didn’t “think” other states had interpreted similar language to Nebraska’s Constitution to allow noncitizens to vote. Hunt said no one had, and Cavanaugh agreed.

Guereca, by text, said the Constitution is already “abundantly clear” that only citizens can vote. He is one of two Latino lawmakers representing some of the state’s most immigrant-rich districts in South Omaha.

“LR 283CA will do nothing but cast doubt on the secure and safe elections we enjoy here in Nebraska,” Guereca said in a text.

State Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue, committee chair, said the question is now up to DeKay on what to do and whether he has the votes.

On Hunt’s concerns, Sanders said after the vote that she views the change as administrative but does see validity in Hunt’s concerns. The first Filipina woman in the Legislature, Sanders said she also hears from Nebraska Filipinos who say they’ve earned and appreciate the right to vote.

Sanders said any campaigning would need to be “careful.”

“We all have to be careful not to turn up any temperatures,” Sanders said after the vote. “And yet, I think we also … have to take into consideration people that feel like, ‘I’ve worked hard as a U.S. Citizen for that vote.’ And are we turning up the temperature, or are we just complying to some language that would make it clear?”