Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

LB3                                                                         LB3
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                             LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
                          ONE HUNDRED NINTH LEGISLATURE
                                  FIRST SESSION
                        LEGISLATIVE BILL 3
       Introduced by Lippincott, 34; at the request of the Governor.
       Read first time January 09, 2025
       Committee:
   A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to presidential electors; to amend sections
       32-710, 32-714, and 32-1038, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska,
       and section 32-713, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024; to
      change provisions relating to selection of presidential electors;
      and to repeal the original sections.
   Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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       Section 1. Section 32-710, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
   amended to read:
      32-710 Each political party shall hold a state convention biennially
  on a date to be fixed by the state central committee but not later than
  September 1. Candidates for elective offices may be nominated at such
  conventions pursuant to section 32-627 or 32-721. Such nominations shall
  be certified to the Secretary of State by the chairperson and secretary
  of the convention. The certificates shall have the same force and effect
  as nominations in primary elections. A political party may not nominate a
   candidate at the convention for an office for which the party did not
   nominate a candidate at the primary election except as provided for new
   political parties in section 32-621. The convention shall formulate and
  promulgate a state platform, select a state central committee, select
  electors for President and Vice President of the United States, and
  transact the business which is properly before it. Five One presidential
  elector shall be   chosen from each congressional district,   and two
  presidential electors shall be selected chosen at large. The officers of
  the convention shall certify the names of the electors to the Governor
  and Secretary of State.
      Sec.    2.     Section   32-713,     Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
  2024, is amended to read:
      32-713 (1) The certificates of appointment for presidential electors
  shall be served by the Governor on each person appointed. The Governor
   shall notify the presidential electors to be at the meeting location
   designated by the Governor at noon on the first Tuesday after the second
   Wednesday in December after appointment and report to the Governor at the
   designated meeting location as being in attendance. The Governor shall
   serve the certificates of appointment by registered or certified mail. In
  submitting this state's certificate of ascertainment as required by 3
  U.S.C. 5, the Governor shall certify this state's presidential electors,
  include a security feature for purposes of verifying the authenticity of
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  the certificate, and state in the certificate that:
          (a) The presidential electors will serve as presidential electors
   unless a vacancy occurs in the office of presidential elector before the
   end of the meeting at which the presidential electors cast their votes,
  in which case a substitute presidential elector will fill the vacancy;
  and
          (b) If a substitute presidential elector is appointed to fill a
   vacancy, the Governor will submit an amended certificate of ascertainment
  stating the names on   the final list of    this state's presidential
   electors.
          (2)   The presidential electors shall convene at    2    p.m.     of such
  Tuesday at    the meeting location designated by    the Governor.       Each
  presidential elector shall execute the following pledge:        As   a
   presidential elector duly selected (or appointed) for this position, I
   agree to serve and to mark my ballots for President and Vice President
   for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates who received the
  highest number of votes in the state if I am an at-large presidential
  elector or the highest number of votes in my congressional district if I
  am a congressional district presidential elector.
          Sec. 3. Section 32-714, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
   amended to read:
         32-714 (1) The Governor shall provide each presidential elector with
  a list of all the presidential electors. If any presidential elector is
  absent or if there is a deficiency in the proper number of presidential
   electors, those present shall elect from the citizens of the state so
  many persons as   will supply the deficiency and immediately issue     a
  certificate of election, signed by those present or a majority of them,
   to the person or persons so chosen. In case of failure to elect as
   required in this subsection by 3 p.m. of such day or in case of a vacancy
   created under subsection (4) of this section, the Governor shall fill the
  vacancies by appointment. Each appointee shall execute the pledge in
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  section 32-713. After all vacancies are filled, the presidential electors
  shall proceed with the election of a President of the United States and a
  Vice President of the United States and certify their votes in conformity
  with the Constitution and laws of the United States.
         (2) The Secretary of State shall provide each presidential elector
  with    a presidential and vice-presidential ballot.      Each at-large
  presidential elector shall mark his or her ballot for the presidential
  and vice-presidential candidates who received the highest number of votes
  in the state and consistent with his or her pledge. Each congressional
  district presidential elector shall mark his or   her ballot for the
  presidential and vice-presidential candidates who received the highest
  number of votes in his or her congressional district and consistent with
  his or her pledge.
          (3) Each presidential elector shall present the completed ballot to
   the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall examine each ballot
  and accept as    cast each ballot marked by    a presidential elector
  consistent with his or her pledge. The Secretary of State shall not
  accept and shall not count the ballot if the presidential elector has not
  marked the ballot or has marked the ballot in violation of his or her
  pledge.
         (4) A presidential elector who refuses to present a ballot, who
  attempts to present an unmarked ballot, or who attempts to present a
  ballot marked in violation of his or her pledge vacates the office of
  presidential elector.
         Sec. 4. Section 32-1038, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
  amended to read:
         32-1038   (1)    The board of    state canvassers shall authorize the
   Secretary of State to open the abstracts of votes from the various
  counties and prepare an abstract stating the number of ballots cast for
   each office, the names of all the persons voted for, for what office they
  respectively received the votes, and the number of votes each received.
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   The abstract shall be signed by the members of the board and shall have
  the seal of the state affixed by the Secretary of State. The canvass of
  the votes for candidates for President and Vice President of the United
  States and the return thereof shall be a canvass and return of the votes
   cast for the presidential electors of   the same party or   group of
   petitioners respectively, and the certificate of such election made by
   the Governor shall be   in accord with such return.    Receipt by     the
   presidential electors of a party or a group of petitioners of the highest
   number of votes statewide shall constitute election of the two at-large
   presidential electors of that party or group of petitioners. Receipt by
  the presidential electors of a party or a group of petitioners of the
   highest number of votes in a congressional district shall constitute
   election of the congressional district presidential elector of that party
   or group of petitioners.
          (2) The board of state canvassers shall determine from the completed
   abstract the names of   those candidates who have been nominated or
   elected. If any two or more persons are returned with an equal and the
   highest number of votes, the board of state canvassers shall decide by
   lot which of such persons is elected except for officers elected to the
   executive branch. The board of state canvassers shall also declare those
   measures carried which have received the required percentage of votes as
   provided by law.
          Sec. 5.       Original sections 32-710, 32-714, and 32-1038, Reissue
  Revised Statutes of    Nebraska,    and section      32-713,    Revised Statutes
  Cumulative Supplement, 2024, are repealed.
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced: 32-710, 32-713, 32-714, 32-1038