Congressional and legislative plans are drawn and enacted by the Nebraska Legislature, subject to the Governor’s veto.
Nebraska’s congressional delegation remained at 3 seats following the 2020 reapportionment.
To view past district shapefiles, see our Map Archive Page.
Primary Authority: Congressional and legislative maps are drawn and enacted by the Nebraska Legislature, subject to the Governor’s veto. The unicameral legislature can override a veto with a 3/5 vote. [Neb. Const. art. III, § 5]
If a bill is presented to the Governor during or after session, the Governor has 5 days to sign or veto it; otherwise, it becomes law without signature. Sundays are excluded from these calculations.
Mapping Timeline: Not specified for congressional districts. The Legislature must perform legislative redistricting following each decennial census, but no deadline for completion is specified. [Neb. Const. art. III, § 5]
Redistricting Criteria:
Map Challenges: Not specified.
Types of Measures: Direct initiatives and referendums are permitted to amend statutes. Direct initiatives are permitted to amend the state constitution. Legislatively initiated ballot measures may amend both statutes and the constitution.
Single-Subject Rule: Yes.
Initiative Subject Restrictions: Initiatives cannot contain anything the Legislature could not legally enact and cannot make changes to the Legislature's right to tax. The same ballot measure may not be placed on the ballot more than once every three years.
Signature Requirements: Constitutional amendments require 10% of all registered voters in the state at the time of the submission deadline, 7% for statutory initiatives, and 5% for veto referendums. Exact numbers cannot be calculated until the submission deadline. Initiatives and referendums also require signatures equal to 5% of registered voters in each of at least 2/5 of the counties of the state. If a referendum petition regarding any law other than emergency legislation is signed by at least 10% of registered voters and submitted, the law is suspended until it is voted on in the election. Voter registration information can be found here.
Submission Deadlines: Initiative petitions must be submitted no less than 4 months prior to the election in which it is to appear on the ballot (July 5, 2024). Referendum petitions must be filed with the Secretary of State within 90 days after the adjournment of the legislative session in which it was passed, and at least 30 days before the election at which it is to be placed on the ballot.
Circulation Period: The circulation period for initiative petitions is 2 years.
Ballot Title and Summary: Ballot title is written by the Attorney General. Expedited reviews for titles and summaries are permitted.
Other Requirements: A fiscal impact statement is not required. Circulators must be at least 18 years of age. Measures must receive both a majority of ballots cast on the measure and votes equal to at least 35% of all votes cast in that election. The Legislature can only amend or repeal an initiative through a two-thirds vote. Referendums cannot target laws making appropriations for the state government or a state institution in existence at the time the law was passed. Initiatives are permitted on general election ballots but not on primary, special election, or odd-year ballots.
[Neb. Const. art. III, §§ 1 – 4; Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 32-1401 – 32-1417; Initiative & Referendum in Nebraska, Nebraska Legislative Research Office]
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