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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 11
Introduced by Blood, 3.
Read first time January 07, 2021
Committee: Government, Military and Veterans Affairs
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to the Election Act; to amend sections
2 32-312.02, 32-808, 32-941, and 32-943, Reissue Revised Statutes of
3 Nebraska, and sections 32-312 and 32-330, Revised Statutes
4 Cumulative Supplement, 2020; to change requirements to register to
5 vote, availability of voter registration information, and provisions
6 regarding ballots for early voting; to harmonize provisions; and to
7 repeal the original sections.
8 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 32-312, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2020, is amended to read:
3 32-312 The registration application prescribed by the Secretary of
4 State pursuant to section 32-304 or 32-311.01 shall provide the
5 instructional statements and request the information from the applicant
6 as provided in this section.
7 CITIZENSHIP—"Are you a citizen of the United States of America?"
8 with boxes to check to indicate whether the applicant is or is not a
9 citizen of the United States.
10 AGE—"Are you at least eighteen years of age or will you be eighteen
11 years of age on or before the first Tuesday following the first Monday of
12 November of this year?" with boxes to check to indicate whether or not
13 the applicant will be eighteen years of age or older on election day.
14 WARNING—"If you checked 'no' in response to either of these
15 questions, do not complete this application.".
16 NAME—the name of the applicant giving the first and last name in
17 full, the middle name in full or the middle initial, and the maiden name
18 of the applicant, if applicable.
19 RESIDENCE—the name and number of the street, avenue, or other
20 location of the dwelling where the applicant resides if there is a
21 number. If the registrant resides in a hotel, apartment, tenement house,
22 or institution, such additional information shall be included as will
23 give the exact location of such registrant's place of residence. If the
24 registrant lives in an incorporated or unincorporated area not identified
25 by the use of roads, road names, or house numbers, the registrant shall
26 state the section, township, and range of his or her residence and the
27 corporate name of the school district as described in section 79-405 in
28 which he or she is located.
29 POSTAL ADDRESS—the address at which the applicant receives mail if
30 different from the residence address.
31 ADDRESS OF LAST REGISTRATION—the name and number of the street,
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1 avenue, or other location of the dwelling from which the applicant last
2 registered.
3 TELEPHONE NUMBERS—the telephone numbers of the applicant. At the
4 request of the applicant, a designation shall be made that a telephone
5 number is an unlisted number, and such designation shall preclude the
6 listing of such telephone number on any list of voter registrations.
7 EMAIL ADDRESS—an email address of the applicant. At the request of
8 the applicant, a designation shall be made that the email address is
9 private, and such designation shall preclude the listing of the
10 applicant's email address on any list of voter registrations.
11 DRIVER'S LICENSE NUMBER OR LAST FOUR DIGITS OF SOCIAL SECURITY
12 NUMBER—if the applicant has a Nebraska driver's license, the license
13 number, and if the applicant does not have a Nebraska driver's license,
14 the last four digits of the applicant's social security number.
15 DATE OF APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION—the month, day, and year when
16 the applicant presented himself or herself for registration, when the
17 applicant completed and signed the registration application if the
18 application was submitted by mail or delivered to the election official
19 by the applicant's personal messenger or personal agent, or when the
20 completed application was submitted if the registration application was
21 completed pursuant to section 32-304.
22 PLACE OF BIRTH—show the state, country, kingdom, empire, or dominion
23 where the applicant was born.
24 DATE OF BIRTH—show the date of the applicant's birth. The applicant
25 shall be at least eighteen years of age or attain eighteen years of age
26 on or before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November to have
27 the right to register and vote in any election in the present calendar
28 year.
29 REGISTRATION TAKEN BY—show the signature of the authorized official
30 or staff member accepting the application pursuant to section 32-309 or
31 32-310 or at least one of the deputy registrars taking the application
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1 pursuant to section 32-306, if applicable.
2 PARTY AFFILIATION—show the party affiliation of the applicant as
3 Democrat, Republican, or Other ........ or show no party affiliation as
4 Nonpartisan. (Note: If you wish to vote in both partisan and nonpartisan
5 primary elections for state and local offices, you must indicate a
6 political party affiliation on the registration application. If you
7 register without a political party affiliation (nonpartisan), you will
8 receive only the nonpartisan ballots for state and local offices at
9 primary elections. If you register without a political party affiliation,
10 you may vote in partisan primary elections for congressional offices.)
11 PERMANENT REQUEST FOR BALLOT FOR EARLY VOTING—Do you want a ballot
12 for early voting to be mailed for every statewide primary and general
13 election? with boxes to check to indicate "Yes" or "No".
14 OTHER—information the Secretary of State determines will assist in
15 the proper and accurate registration of the voter.
16 Immediately following the spaces for inserting information as
17 provided in this section, the following statement shall be printed:
18 To the best of my knowledge and belief, I declare under penalty of
19 election falsification that:
20 (1) I live in the State of Nebraska at the address provided in this
21 application;
22 (2) I have not been convicted of a felony or, if convicted, it has
23 been at least two years since I completed my sentence for the felony,
24 including any parole term;
25 (3) I have not been officially found to be non compos mentis
26 (mentally incompetent); and
27 (4) I am a citizen of the United States.
28 Any registrant who signs this application knowing that any of the
29 information in the application is false shall be guilty of a Class IV
30 felony under section 32-1502 of the statutes of Nebraska. The penalty for
31 a Class IV felony is up to two years imprisonment and twelve months post-
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1 release supervision, a fine of up to ten thousand dollars, or both.
2 APPLICANT'S SIGNATURE—require the applicant to affix his or her
3 signature to the application.
4 Sec. 2. Section 32-312.02, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
5 amended to read:
6 32-312.02 To avoid rejection of an application for registration or a
7 delay in the processing of the application, the information provided by
8 the applicant pursuant to section 32-312 who is applying to register for
9 the first time in the state or following a cancellation of the person's
10 prior registration shall include:
11 (1) The name of the applicant;
12 (2) A description of the location of the applicant's residence that
13 is sufficient to allow the election commissioner or county clerk to
14 accurately assign the applicant to the appropriate precinct, including a
15 political subdivision of the precinct if the applicant resides in a
16 precinct which is divided into political subdivisions and the voters
17 residing within each subdivision are entitled to participate in an
18 election of any one or more candidates or in the determination by
19 election of any question or proposition specific to the political
20 subdivision;
21 (3) The postal address if different than the person's residence
22 address;
23 (4) The date of birth of the applicant;
24 (5) The party affiliation of the applicant or an indication that the
25 applicant is not affiliated with any political party;
26 (6) The applicant's Nebraska driver's license number or, if the
27 applicant does not have a Nebraska driver's license, the last four digits
28 of the applicant's social security number if the applicant has one; and
29 (7) Indication of "Yes" or "No" regarding the Permanent Request for
30 Ballot for Early Voting; and
31 (8) (7) The signature of the applicant.
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1 Sec. 3. Section 32-330, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2020, is amended to read:
3 32-330 (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of section
4 32-301, the voter registration register shall be a public record. Any
5 person may examine the register at the office of the election
6 commissioner or county clerk, but no person other than the Secretary of
7 State, the election commissioner, the county clerk, or law enforcement
8 shall be allowed to make copies of the register. Copies of the register
9 shall only be used for list maintenance as provided in section 32-329 or
10 law enforcement purposes. The electronic records of the original voter
11 registrations created pursuant to section 32-301 may constitute the voter
12 registration register. The Secretary of State, election commissioner, or
13 county clerk shall withhold information in the register designated as
14 confidential under section 32-331. No portion of the register made
15 available to the public and no list distributed pursuant to this section
16 shall include the digital signature of any voter.
17 (2) The Secretary of State, election commissioner, or county clerk
18 shall make available a list of registered voters that contains no more
19 than the information authorized in subsection (3) of this section and, if
20 requested, a list that only contains such information for registered
21 voters who have voted in an election held more than thirty days prior to
22 the request for the list. The Secretary of State, election commissioner,
23 or county clerk shall establish the price of the lists at a rate that
24 fairly covers the actual production cost of the lists, not to exceed
25 three cents per name. Lists shall be used solely for purposes related to
26 elections, political activities, voter registration, law enforcement, or
27 jury selection. Lists shall not be used for commercial purposes.
28 (3)(a) The Secretary of State, election commissioner, or county
29 clerk shall withhold from any list of registered voters distributed
30 pursuant to subsection (2) of this section any information in the voter
31 registration records which is designated as confidential under section
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1 32-331 or marked private on the voter registration application or voter
2 registration record.
3 (b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (a) of this
4 subsection, a list of registered voters distributed pursuant to
5 subsection (2) of this section shall contain no more than the following
6 information:
7 (i) The registrant's name;
8 (ii) The registrant's residential address;
9 (iii) The registrant's mailing address;
10 (iv) The registrant's telephone number;
11 (v) The registrant's voter registration status;
12 (vi) The registrant's voter identification number;
13 (vii) The registrant's date of birth;
14 (viii) The registrant's date of voter registration;
15 (ix) The registrant's voting precinct;
16 (x) The registrant's polling site;
17 (xi) The registrant's political party affiliation;
18 (xii) The political subdivisions in which the registrant resides;
19 and
20 (xiii) The registrant's voter history; and .
21 (xiv) Whether the registrant has requested to be placed on the list
22 to receive ballots for early voting for statewide primary and general
23 elections.
24 (4) Any person who acquires a list of registered voters under
25 subsection (2) of this section shall provide his or her name, address,
26 telephone number, email address, and campaign committee name or
27 organization name, if applicable, and the state of organization, if
28 applicable, and shall take and subscribe to an oath in substantially the
29 following form:
30 I hereby swear that I will use the list of registered voters
31 of ....... County, Nebraska, (or the State of Nebraska) only for the
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1 purposes prescribed in section 32-330 and for no other purpose and that I
2 will not permit the use or copying of such list for unauthorized
3 purposes.
4 I hereby declare under the penalty of election falsification that
5 the statements above are true to the best of my knowledge.
6 The penalty for election falsification is a Class IV felony.
7 (Signature of person acquiring list) .................
8 Subscribed and sworn to before me this .... day of ........ 20.. .
9 (Signature of officer) ....................................
10 (Name and official title of officer) ..........................
11 (5) The Secretary of State, election commissioner, or county clerk
12 shall provide, upon request and free of charge, a complete and current
13 listing of all registered voters and their addresses to the Clerk of the
14 United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. Such list
15 shall be provided no later than December 31 of each even-numbered year.
16 (6) The Secretary of State, election commissioner, or county clerk
17 shall provide, upon request and free of charge, a complete and current
18 listing of all registered voters containing only the information
19 authorized under subsection (3) of this section to the state party
20 headquarters of each political party and to the county chairperson of
21 each political party.
22 Sec. 4. Section 32-808, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
23 amended to read:
24 32-808 (1) Except as otherwise provided in section 32-939.02,
25 ballots for early voting to be mailed pursuant to section 32-941 shall be
26 ready for delivery to registered voters at least thirty-five days prior
27 to each statewide primary or general election and at least fifteen days
28 prior to all other elections.
29 (2) The election commissioner or county clerk shall not mail or
30 issue any ballot for early voting if the election to which such ballot
31 pertains has already been held.
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1 (3) The Secretary of State election commissioner or county cl