LB675 LB675
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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 675
Introduced by Day, 49.
Read first time January 18, 2023
Committee: Government, Military and Veterans Affairs
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to government; to amend sections 32-308,
2 32-914, 32-941, 32-942, 32-943, 32-944, 32-948, 32-950, 60-484,
3 60-4,130, 60-4,130.02, 60-4,144, and 71-612, Reissue Revised
4 Statutes of Nebraska, and sections 32-101, 32-202, 32-907, 32-915,
5 32-947, 32-960, 32-1002, and 60-4,115, Revised Statutes Cumulative
6 Supplement, 2022; to change provisions relating to registering to
7 vote and voting; to provide duties for the Secretary of State and
8 election officials; to eliminate the fee for certain state
9 identification cards and certified copies of birth certificates; to
10 harmonize provisions; and to repeal the original sections.
11 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 32-101, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2022, is amended to read:
3 32-101 Sections 32-101 to 32-1551 and sections 5, 6, and 9 of this
4 act shall be known and may be cited as the Election Act.
5 Sec. 2. Section 32-202, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
6 2022, is amended to read:
7 32-202 In addition to any other duties prescribed by law, the
8 Secretary of State shall:
9 (1) Supervise the conduct of primary and general elections in this
10 state;
11 (2) Provide training and support for election commissioners, county
12 clerks, and other election officials in providing for day-to-day
13 operations of the office, registration of voters, and the conduct of
14 elections;
15 (3) Enforce the Election Act;
16 (4) With the assistance and advice of the Attorney General, make
17 uniform interpretations of the act;
18 (5) Provide periodic training for the agencies and their agents and
19 contractors in carrying out their duties under sections 32-308 to 32-310;
20 (6) Develop and print forms for use as required by sections 32-308,
21 32-310, 32-320, 32-329, 32-947, 32-956, and 32-958;
22 (7) Contract with the Department of Administrative Services for
23 storage and distribution of the forms;
24 (8) Require reporting to ensure compliance with sections 32-308 to
25 32-310;
26 (9) Prepare and transmit reports as required by the National Voter
27 Registration Act of 1993, 52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.;
28 (10) Develop and print a manual describing the requirements of the
29 initiative and referendum process and distribute the manual to election
30 commissioners and county clerks for distribution to the public upon
31 request;
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1 (11) Develop and print pamphlets described in section 32-1405.01;
2 (12) Adopt and promulgate rules and regulations as necessary for
3 elections conducted under sections 32-952 to 32-959; and
4 (13) Establish a free access system, such as a toll-free telephone
5 number or an Internet website, that any voter who casts a provisional
6 ballot may access to discover whether the vote of that voter was counted
7 and, if the vote was not counted, the reason that the vote was not
8 counted. The Secretary of State shall establish and maintain reasonable
9 procedures necessary to protect the security, confidentiality, and
10 integrity of personal information collected, stored, or otherwise used by
11 the free access system. Access to information about an individual
12 provisional ballot shall be restricted to the individual who cast the
13 ballot; and .
14 (14) Provide a public awareness campaign regarding the voter
15 identification requirements and procedures to obtain qualifying
16 identification, which shall include creation of a website, social media,
17 and television and print advertisements that explain the process for
18 registering to vote, the process to vote in-person, and the process to
19 vote early. It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate one
20 million dollars for the public awareness campaign.
21 Sec. 3. Section 32-308, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
22 amended to read:
23 32-308 (1) The Secretary of State and the Director of Motor Vehicles
24 shall enter into an agreement to match information in the computerized
25 statewide voter registration list with information in the database of the
26 Department of Motor Vehicles to the extent required to enable each such
27 official to verify the accuracy of the information provided on
28 applications for voter registration. The Director of Motor Vehicles shall
29 enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of Social Security under
30 section 205(r)(8) of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 405(r)
31 (8), as such section existed on April 17, 2003, for purposes of the
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1 Election Act.
2 (2) The Department of Motor Vehicles, with the assistance of the
3 Secretary of State, shall prescribe a voter registration application
4 which may be used to register to vote or make a change of his or her
5 address for voting purposes at the same time an elector applies for an
6 original or renewal motor vehicle operator's license, an original or
7 renewal state identification card, or a replacement thereof. The voter
8 registration application shall be designed so that the elector's
9 information is transmitted to the election commissioner or county clerk
10 pursuant to subsection (3) of this section unless the elector specifies
11 on the form that the elector does not want to register to vote or update
12 the voter registration record or the applicant marked that the applicant
13 is not a United States citizen. The voter registration application shall
14 contain the information required pursuant to section 32-312 and shall be
15 designed so that it does not require the duplication of information in
16 the application for the motor vehicle operator's license or state
17 identification card, except that it may require a second signature of the
18 applicant. The department and the Secretary of State shall make the voter
19 registration application available to any person applying for an
20 operator's license or state identification card. The application shall be
21 completed at the office of the department by the close of business on the
22 third Friday preceding any election to be registered to vote at such
23 election. A registration application received after the deadline shall
24 not be processed by the election commissioner or county clerk until after
25 the election. If a voter registration application is submitted under this
26 section with the signature of the applicant but the applicant is not
27 eligible to register to vote, the submission shall not be considered a
28 violation of section 32-1502 or 32-1503 and the document submitted shall
29 not be considered a valid or completed voter registration application for
30 purposes of registration or enforcement of the Election Act unless the
31 applicant has willfully and knowingly taken affirmative steps to register
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1 to vote knowing that the applicant is not eligible to do so.
2 (3) The Department of Motor Vehicles, in conjunction with the
3 Secretary of State, shall develop a process to electronically transmit
4 voter registration application information received under subsection (2)
5 of this section to the election commissioner or county clerk of the
6 county in which the applicant resides within the time limits prescribed
7 in subsection (4) of this section for each applicant verified by the
8 Department of Motor Vehicles to be a citizen of the United States and to
9 be at least eighteen years of age on or before the first Tuesday after
10 the first Monday in November of the then-current year. The Department of
11 Motor Vehicles shall not transmit voter registration application
12 information for applications pursuant to section 60-480.01. The Director
13 of Motor Vehicles shall designate an implementation date for the process
14 which shall be on or before January 1, 2016.
15 (4) The voter registration application information shall be
16 transmitted to the election commissioner or county clerk of the county in
17 which the applicant resides not later than ten days after receipt, except
18 that if the voter registration application information is received within
19 five days prior to the third Friday preceding any election, it shall be
20 transmitted not later than five days after its original submission. Any
21 information on whether an applicant registers or declines to register and
22 the location of the office at which he or she registers shall be
23 confidential and shall only be used for voter registration purposes.
24 (5) For each voter registration application for which information is
25 transmitted electronically pursuant to this section, the Secretary of
26 State shall obtain a copy of the electronic representation of the
27 applicant's signature from the Department of Motor Vehicles' records of
28 his or her motor vehicle operator's license or state identification card
29 for purposes of voter registration. Each voter registration application
30 electronically transmitted under this section shall include information
31 provided by the applicant that includes whether the applicant is a
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1 citizen of the United States, whether the applicant is of sufficient age
2 to register to vote, the applicant's residence address, the applicant's
3 postal address if different from the residence address, the date of birth
4 of the applicant, the party affiliation of the applicant or an indication
5 that the applicant is not affiliated with any political party, the
6 applicant's motor vehicle operator's license number, the applicant's
7 previous registration location by city, county, or state, if applicable,
8 and the applicant's signature.
9 (6) State agency personnel involved in the voter registration
10 process pursuant to this section and section 32-309 shall not be
11 considered deputy registrars or agents or employees of the election
12 commissioner or county clerk.
13 Sec. 4. Section 32-907, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
14 2022, is amended to read:
15 32-907 (1) All polling places shall be accessible to all registered
16 voters and shall be in compliance with the federal Americans with
17 Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, and the federal Help America Vote
18 Act of 2002, as amended. In addition, all polling places shall be
19 modified or relocated to architecturally barrier-free buildings to
20 provide unobstructed access to such polling places by people with
21 physical limitations as required by this section. At least one voting
22 booth shall be so constructed as to provide easy access for people with
23 limitations, shall accommodate a wheelchair, and shall have a cover or
24 barrier to provide privacy. The modifications required by this section
25 may be of a temporary nature to provide such unobstructed access only on
26 election day.
27 (2) All polling places shall meet the requirements of the federal
28 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, and the federal Help
29 America Vote Act of 2002, as amended, including, but not limited to,
30 requirements for:
31 (a) Parking;
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1 (b) An exterior route to an accessible entrance;
2 (c) Polling place entrances;
3 (d) The route from the entrance into the voting area;
4 (e) Voting areas, including, but not limited to, a sign (i) that
5 indicates that assistance is available, (ii) that contains the contact
6 telephone number approved by the Secretary of State, and (iii) posted
7 with visible lettering that is two inches, plus one-eighth inch per foot
8 of viewing distance more than one hundred eighty inches from viewing
9 points;
10 (f) Ramps;
11 (g) Lifts; and
12 (h) Elevators.
13 (3) The Secretary of State shall develop, print, and make publicly
14 available a training manual regarding accessibility requirements of the
15 Election Act, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as
16 amended, and the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002, as amended.
17 (4) The Secretary of State shall include in the biennial training
18 for election commissioners and county clerks current standards for
19 accessibility. All poll workers shall receive training regarding
20 accessibility between appointment and serving at an election.
21 (5) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate sufficient
22 funds from the General Fund to the Secretary of State to ensure that each
23 polling place in the State of Nebraska is in compliance with the federal
24 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, and the federal Help
25 America Vote Act of 2002, as amended, according to section 32-907.
26 Sec. 5. For purposes of sections 32-914 and 32-915, beginning with
27 the statewide primary election in 2026, the following documents qualify
28 as identification, whether current or expired, do not require an exact
29 name or address match, gender marker, or signature, and apply to voters
30 voting in person at a polling site:
31 (1) A driver's license or learner's permit issued by a state or
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1 territory of the United States;
2 (2) A state identification card issued by a state or territory of
3 the United States;
4 (3) An identification card issued by a high school or postsecondary
5 educational institution accredited by an accrediting agency or state
6 approval agency recognized by the United States Secretary of Education;
7 (4) An identification card issued by an agency of the United States,
8 including a United States passport and an identification card issued by a
9 branch of the armed forces of the United States;
10 (5) An identification card issued by a political subdivision of the
11 State of Nebraska;
12 (6) An employee identification card from any branch, department,
13 agency, or entity of the United States Government, state, county,
14 municipality, board, or authority of the state;
15 (7) A tribal identification card from any federally recognized tribe
16 in the United States;
17 (8) A social security card;
18 (9) A medicare or medicaid identification card;
19 (10) A United States citizenship certificate;
20 (11) A United States naturalization certificate;
21 (12) A certified birth record issued by a government bureau of vital
22 statistics or board of health in the United States, District of Columbia,
23 Guam, Puerto Rico, or Virgin Islands;
24 (13) A certificate of Birth Abroad (FS-545 or DS-1350) issued by the
25 United States Department of State;
26 (14) A report of Birth Abroad of a United States Citizen (FS-240)
27 issued by a United States Embassy;
28 (15) A cert