Citizens for a Free Nebraska
      Fighting for Representation and Local Control Throughout Nebraska

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How / Where Can I Sign a Petition?
    Signing Place Locations

How Can I Volunteer to Become a Circulator?

Petition and Signature Requirements
    # of Signatures and Signature Distribution Requirements
    Petition Circulators
    Petition Signers
    Specific Questions

Our 38 Target Counties and Required # of Signatures by County



How / Where Can I Sign a Petition?

Citizens for a Free Nebraska is now circulating petitions statewide. Of course, you can wait until one of our circulators visits you, but perhaps a quicker way to sign our petitions would be to visit one of our "signing places."

*The signing places are simply agreed locations where signers can go to meet with our volunteer circulators and sign our petitions at their convenience. The signing places are not paid in any way to host our circulators or to circulate petitions, and all of our circulators are instructed to follow all petitioning rules and to act in accordance with state law.*

If you would like to volunteer a location to be added to our list of signing places, please contact us for details.

Below is our current list of signing places, updated as of 3/17/2009.

Bennington
Keno Cabana

15409 S 2nd St


Bellevue
Pro-Cuts

3906 Twin Creek Dr # 104


Elkhorn
ACE Hardware 20277 Wirt St
Rick's Meats 2929 N 204th St
Pro-Cuts 1119 N 204th Ave

Gretna
Gretna Drug 820 Village Sq

Millard
Pro-Cuts 6909 S 157th St # B

Omaha
Pro-Cuts 10623 Fort St

Valley
Valley Pharmacy 123 E Gardiner St

Waterloo
Publication Printing 208 3rd St


Other locations coming soon!


Please contact us if you ever have a complaint about one of our circulators so that we can resolve the issue quickly and ensure that all of our volunteers are circulating the petitions properly. It is extremely important that we make sure that everything is being done right.

In the meantime, if you would like to sign a petition, but are not able to travel to one of our signing places, and our circulators have not yet visited your area, please contact: Tom Fencl at Publication Printing in Waterloo, NE  (402) 779-4272
and we'll try to get a volunteer out to meet you.

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How Can I Volunteer to Become a Circulator?

Please fill out our online sign-up form or email Sandy Wray, our Volunteer Coordinator, at volunteer@freenebraska.net. Let us know how many petition forms you need and where you will be circulating. Also, please be sure to tell us if you would like to volunteer for a specific county.

Again, if you would like to volunteer a location to be put on our list of "signing places," please let us know that as well.

Before giving you your materials, Sandy will talk with you about the rules and requirements of the petition process. The rules can also be found in the below sections on this page. Please review them carefully. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

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Petition and Signature Requirements

Below on this page are some key points from a document provided by the Secretary of State. For the full document, click here.


# of Signatures and Signature Distribution Requirements

In order to force the issue of independence onto the ballot, Citizens for a Free Nebraska must collect signatures from a total of 7% of the registered voters in Nebraska. And, the signatures must be distributed across at least two-fifths of Nebraska's 93 Counties, while meeting a minimum of 5% of the registered voters from each of those Counties. The signatures must be submitted to the Secretary of State no later than four months prior to the general election.

In other words, we must obtain a total of about 90,000 signatures from 38 Nebraska Counties, while meeting a minimum of 5% of the registered voters from each of those Counties. And, we need them by the end of June 2010.

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Petition Circulators

Circulators must read the object statement of the petition to each signer, and must witness each signature.

Circulators must be registered voters in the State of Nebraska.

When collecting signatures on public property, circulators must abide by any restrictions on time and place that may be in effect. On private property, circulation is up to the discretion of the property owner. Furthermore, state law prohibits the gathering of signatures within 200 feet of a polling place.

Circulators cannot offer or give anything of value to potential signers in order to get them to sign the petition. Doing so is illegal, and it comes with a penalty of up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

Circulators may be either paid or volunteer, and either type must abide by its own set of rules and regulations in accordance with state law.

When finished collecting signatures, Circulators must sign the oath on the form in the presence of a notary public and return the completed petition form to Citizens for a Free Nebraska (CFN).

If you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us. It is extremely important that all circulators and signers follow the process correctly and adhere to all requirements of state law.

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Petition Signers

Signers must be registered voters in Nebraska by the deadline for the submission of the petitions. By signing the petition, the signer is stating that they are or will be a registered voter by the submission deadline. In other words, the signer does not need to be registered to vote when they sign, but they must agree to be registered to vote by the deadline.

A signer must not sign any name other than their own, sign a petition more than once, or accept anything of value for signing the petition.

Common nicknames of signers such as "Bob" for "Robert" will be accepted, but it is simply easier and more certain that the signature will be accepted if the signer signs in the same way that they are registered. So in other words, please sign the petitions in the same way that you are registered.

If a signer makes a mistake when signing, it is permissible to cross out the incorrect signature line without affecting the other signatures on the petition form.

If you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us. It is extremely important that all circulators and signers follow the process correctly and adhere to all requirements of state law.

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Specific Questions

Here, we will try to post the answers to a few common specific questions.

Q: Is it acceptable to collect signatures from more than one County on a
     single petition form?

A: No. Each petition form must contain signatures from only one County. The statement at the top of each petition form reads, "We, the undersigned residents of the State of Nebraska and the County of ___," which means that all of the signatures on that petition form must be from the "County of ___."
So, "mixed-County" petition forms are not acceptable.

The reason is that the County-level election commissions are the ones that verify the signatures after they have been submitted.
 

Q: How should residents of Elkhorn sign the petitions? For instance, do they now have to write "Omaha" as the city?

A: No. Elkhorn residents can still use Elkhorn as the city.

Here is what the Secretary of State's office said:

"While it is preferable to use the new address (including city), if an old address is used, the local official will be able to verify the signature with the old address [including the old city]."

Also according to the Secretary of State's office, Elkhorn voters should not need to re-register to vote:

"The Douglas County Election Commissioner has already updated the addresses in Elkhorn, so a voter does not need to re-register [if their address has been changed administratively by Omaha, as opposed to people who have moved or need to re-register for other reasons]. However, it is simpler if a signer uses the new address."

The rule of thumb is, try to sign exactly as you are registered to vote.
 

Q: How exactly do I sign the petition form? Please give a column
     by column example.

A: It is best to sign exactly as you are registered to vote. And, make sure that your information in each column is complete. For example, you must include the month, day, and year in your date of birth.
 

  Date Signature Printed Name Date
of Birth
Address City or Village Zip Code
1 2 / 22 2008

John A. Doe 2 / 22 1950 555 S 204th St Gretna 68028


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Registered Voters in Nebraska by County

*Updates Coming Soon*

In the meantime, for more information on signature distribution requirements, please click here.

If you are able to help us collect signatures in any county, please contact us.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

 

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last update - 3/17/2009