Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative: the blog!

Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative

Qualifies for November Ballot

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Secretary of State announced today that the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative has qualified for the November 2008 ballot. 

“This is a big win for Nebraska.  Thousands of Nebraskans from Scottsbluff to Omaha signed the petition.  All Nebraskans will now have an opportunity to vote on this important issue,” said Doug Tietz, Executive Director of the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative.

According to the Secretary of State, 136,589 valid signatures of registered voters were collected, far exceeding theneeded 112,152 valid signatures – equal to 10 percent of registered voters statewide – to be placed on the ballot. The initiative enjoys statewide support with valid signatures from 5 percent of registered voters in each of 88 counties, far surpassing the threshold of 38 counties needed. Approximately 83 percent of the submitted signatures were valid.

Ward Connerly, national advocate for ending the use of race and gender preferences, praised the Nebraska effort. 

“I want to commend the people of Nebraska for their support in ending race and gender preferences.  It is important for Nebraska, and the rest of the country to have a frank debate about whether our government should judge people based on their race or gender,” Connerly said.

Connerly, President of the American Civil Rights Coalition, has spent the past 13 years fighting for equal treatment for every American regardless of race, sex, color, or ethnicity.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office has approved the following language for the November ballot:

Shall the Nebraska Constitution be amended to provide that the state, and any public institution of higher education, political subdivision or government institution shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, individuals or groups based upon race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in operating public employment, public education, or public contracting?  The amendment applies only to actions after its effective date.  It would not invalidate existing court orders, prohibit bona fide qualifications based on sex reasonably necessary to normal operation of public employment, education or contracting, or prohibit actions necessary to obtain federal funds through federal programs. 

John Gale, Nebraska's Secretary of State, will certify this afternoon that the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative has gathered enough signatures to be placed on the ballot in November. 

Despite a personal appearance by Danielle Nantkes, the Nebraska Journal Leader reports that the Dixon County board of supervisors has unanimously withdrawn their support for Nebraskans United, saying that they should have remained neutral. 

Nebraskans United yesterday amended their campaign expenditures report for August, adding a payment of zero dollars to the National Education Association (the largest national teachers union). The unexplained payment of $43,288.94 to Nebraksans United  -- i.e., themselves -- remains. 

As I detail on my regular blog, Nebraskans United (the umbrella group set up to oppose NCRI) have an entirely illegal $43,288.94 payment to themselves on their August campaign filing. Danielle Nantkes, the treasurer of this group, has a history of filing late and inaccurate reports with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. Now she's evidently trying to conceal how and where Nebraskans United are spending their money. 

Uncle Wiggily, head lagomorph of one of Nebraska's indispensible political blogs, has a thoughtful piece on the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative. He take me gently to task for suggesting that David Kramer, lawyer for Nebraskans United, might be motivated by being a recipient or potential recipient of preferences. And he's probably right; while anyone arguing the case against preferences gets frustrated by the continued accusation we're motivated by a desire to perpetuate 'white privilege'*, they object vehemently to any suggestion that their own desire to maintain the present far less nebulous system of preferences might not be entirely selfless. But UW's right. We should be above all that. The case against preferences stands on its merits; let its antagonists, if they are into self-examination, analyze their own motives.

Somewhat surprisingly to this long-term observer of the state GOP, the Nebraska Republican convention today voted in support of the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative, creating a clear contrast to the state Democrats, who opposed it. It makes perfect sense, of course, for the GOP to do this; 71% of the state's voters favor the initiative.

NCRI today announced, at a press conference in the Nebraska Capitol Building, that they have 167,000 signatures to put the NCRI amendment on the November Ballot, almost 50% more than the legal requirement. NCRI has enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in every single one of Nebraska's 93 counties.  Grassroots that! While no doubt we're in for a good two months of lawyering from the ACLU and their antidemocratic allies, I can't imagine that even the most activist judge would override the expressed wishes of a full 1/6 of the state's registered voters.

According to the Lincoln Journal Star, we have enough signatures.