Nebraska State Senate elections, 2020
| 2020 Nebraska Senate Elections | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General | November 3, 2020 |
| Primary | May 12, 2020 |
| Past Election Results |
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| 2020 Elections | |
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Nebraska Republicans expanded their supermajority in the 2020 elections. Twenty-five of the chamber's 49 seats were up in 2020. Heading into the election, 30 legislators identified with the Republican Party, 18 with the Democratic Party, and one was unaligned. Republicans gained a net two seats and Democrats lost a net one seat, leaving the chamber's post-election partisan balance at a 32-17 Republican majority. Thirty votes are needed to override a gubernatorial veto in Nebraska.
While Nebraska's Unicameral Legislature is officially nonpartisan, most of its lawmakers are affiliated with the state affiliate of either the Democratic or the Republican Party. Ballotpedia assigned party affiliation based on voter registration, member lists provided by the Nebraska Democratic Party and Nebraska Republican Party, as well as information provided by nonprofit organizations.
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia identified five of the races as battlegrounds, all five of which were Democrat-held districts. The five battleground districts were Districts 3, District 15, District 31, District 35, and District 45.
Heading into the election, Nebraska had been under a Republican trifecta since 1999, when Republicans won both the Senate and the governorship. Democrats needed to win all five of the battleground seats as well as one non-battleground seat to remove the Republicans’ veto-proof majority, while Republicans had the chance to increase their veto-proof majority if they win any of the battleground seats.
The Nebraska State Senate was one of 86 state legislative chambers with elections in 2020. In 2018, 87 out of 99 legislative chambers held elections. Out of the 49 seats in the Nebraska State Senate, 24 seats were up for election in 2018.
Heading into the 2020 elections, Republicans held a majority in more chambers than Democrats. There was a Republican majority in 59 chambers and a Democratic majority in 39 chambers. In the Alaska House, there was a power-sharing agreement between the parties as part of a coalition.
Nebraska's 2020 state Senate elections affected partisan control of redistricting following the 2020 census. In Nebraska, the state legislature is responsible for drafting both congressional and state legislative district plans. District plans are subject to gubernatorial veto.
Click here for more information on redistricting procedures in Nebraska.
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Nebraska modified its primary election process as follows:
- Voting procedures: Mail-in ballots sent to all registered voters in the primary election.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.-->
Party control
| Nebraska State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2020 | After November 4, 2020 | |
| Democratic Party | 18 | 17 | |
| Republican Party | 30 | 32 | |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 49 | 49 | |
Districts
- See also: Nebraska state legislative districts
Use the interactive map below to find your district.
Candidates
General election
Primary election
The candidate list below is based on candidate filing lists provided by the Nebraska Secretary of State. (i) denotes an incumbent.[1]
2020 battleground chamber
The Nebraska State Senate was among 24 state legislative chambers Ballotpedia identified as battleground chambers for the 2020 cycle. Click here for more information on state legislative battlegrounds.
What was at stake?
- Republicans needed to hold every seat to maintain their veto-proof majority in 2020.
Why was it a battleground?
- Seats decided by 10% or less in 2016: The last time this set of seats was up for election, there were eight races (32% of seats up that year) decided by a margin of 10% or smaller.
- Seats flipped in 2016: The last time this set of seats was up for election, seven seats (28% of those up) changed partisan control.
Battleground races
| Nebraska State Senate Battleground races |
|---|
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia identified five battleground races in the Nebraska State Senate 2020 elections, all five of which were Democrat-held districts. Based on analysis of these districts' electoral histories, these races had the potential to be more competitive than other races and could possibly have led to shifts in a chamber's partisan balance.
To determine state legislative battleground races in 2020, Ballotpedia looked for races that fit one or more of the four factors listed below:
- In the last state legislative election, the winner received less than 55% of the vote.
- The presidential candidate who won the district in 2016 is of a different party than the most recent state legislative election winner in the district, and the most recent state legislative election winner won by a margin of 10 percentage points or less.
- The presidential candidate who won the district in 2016 is of a different party than the most recent state legislative election winner in the district, and the incumbent is not on the ballot this year.
- The presidential candidate who won the district in 2016 is of a different party than the most recent state legislative election winner in the district, and that presidential candidate won the district by a margin of 20 percentage points or more.
District 3
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Democratic Party |
Who were the candidates running?
|
|
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district where the presidential candidate who won the district in 2016 is of a different party than the most recent state legislative election winner in the district, and the winner in the last state legislative election received less than 55% of the vote. Carol Blood (D) was first elected in 2016 where she received 51.6 percent of the vote and defeated then-incumbent Tommy Garrett (R) by 3.1 percentage points. District 3 was one of 37 Nebraska Senate districts that Republican Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Trump carried District 3 by 18.9 percentage points. Mitt Romney (R) won the district in the 2012 presidential election by 20 percentage points. |
District 15
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Democratic Party |
Who were the candidates running?
|
|
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district where the presidential candidate who won the district in 2016 is of a different party than the most recent state legislative election winner in the district, that presidential candidate won the district by a margin of 20 percentage points or more, and the winner in the last state legislative election received less than 55% of the vote. Lynne Walz (D) was first elected in 2016 where she received 51.4 percent of the vote and defeated then-incumbent David Schnoor (R) by 2.8 percentage points. District 15 was one of 37 Nebraska Senate districts that Republican Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Trump carried District 15 by 35.3 percentage points. Mitt Romney (R) won the district in the 2012 presidential election by 22.3 percentage points. |
District 31
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Democratic Party |
Who were the candidates running?
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district where the presidential candidate who won the district in 2016 is of a different party than the most recent state legislative election winner in the district, that presidential candidate won the district by a margin of 20 percentage points or more, the incumbent is not on the ballot this year, and the winner in the last state legislative election received less than 55% of the vote. Then-incumbent Rick Kolowski (D) was first elected in 2012 and then reelected in 2016, where he received 52.1 percent of the vote and defeated challenger Ian Swanson (R) by 4.1 percentage points. District 31 was one of 37 Nebraska Senate districts that Republican Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Trump carried District 31 by 20.5 percentage points. Mitt Romney (R) won the district in the 2012 presidential election by 31.3 percentage points. |
District 35
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Democratic Party |
Who were the candidates running?
|
|
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district where the presidential candidate who won the district in 2016 is of a different party than the most recent state legislative election winner in the district, that presidential candidate won the district by a margin of 20 percentage points or more, and the winner in the last state legislative election received less than 55% of the vote. Dan Quick (D) was first elected in 2016 where he received 50.3 percent of the vote and defeated Gregg Neuhaus (R) by 0.7 percentage points. District 35 was one of 37 Nebraska Senate districts that Republican Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Trump carried District 35 by 27.4 percentage points. Mitt Romney (R) won the district in the 2012 presidential election by 18.9 percentage points. |
District 45
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Democratic Party |
Who were the candidates running?
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district where the presidential candidate who won the district in 2016 is of a different party than the most recent state legislative election winner in the district, and the incumbent is not on the ballot this year. Then-incumbent Sue Crawford (D) was first elected in 2012 and then reelected in 2016, where she received 56.6 percent of the vote and defeated challenger Michael Cook (R) by 13.2 percentage points. District 45 was one of 37 Nebraska Senate districts that Republican Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Trump carried District 45 by 18.3 percentage points. Mitt Romney (R) won the district in the 2012 presidential election by 16.2 percentage points. |
Battleground races map
Incumbents who were not re-elected
Incumbents defeated in the general election
Two incumbents lost in the Nov. 3 general election. Those incumbents were:
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Dan Quick | Senate District 35 | |
| Andrew La Grone | Senate District 49 |
Incumbents defeated in primary elections
No incumbents lost in the May 12 primaries.
Retiring incumbents
There were six open seats where the incumbent legislator did not file for re-election in 2020.[2] Those incumbents were:
The six open seats in 2020 were the second-lowest over the preceding decade. All six incumbents who did not seek re-election were term-limited.
| Open Seats in Nebraska State Senate elections: 2010 - 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | Seats with incumbents running for re-election |
| 2020 | 25 | 6 (24%) | 19 (76%) |
| 2018 | 24 | 8 (33%) | 16 (67%) |
| 2016 | 25 | 11 (44%) | 14 (56%) |
| 2014 | 25 | 17 (68%) | 8 (32%) |
| 2012 | 26 | 9 (35%) | 17 (65%) |
| 2010 | 24 | 3 (13%) | 21 (87%) |
Redistricting in Nebraska
- See also: Redistricting in Nebraska
In Nebraska, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. A simple majority is required to approve a redistricting plan, which is subject to veto by the governor.[3]
The Nebraska Constitution requires that state legislative districts "be contiguous and compact, and they keep to county boundaries 'whenever practicable.'"[3][4]
On April 8, 2011, the state legislature approved the following redistricting guidelines:[3]
- Congressional districts should be held to the same aforementioned constitutional requirements as state legislative districts.
- Both congressional and state legislative districts should be "understandable to voters, preserve the cores of prior districts, and keep to boundaries of cities and villages when feasible."
- District boundaries "should not be established with the intention of favoring a political party, other group or any person."
The legislature is entitled to amend these guidelines at its discretion.[3]
Process to become a candidate
For all candidates
According to the Nebraska Secretary of State, every prospective candidate must complete and submit a candidate filing form (which includes a candidate statement that must be signed) and provide for the payment of the filing fee. For state offices, the candidate must submit a statement of financial interests. A candidate for federal office must submit a financial statement according to Federal Election Commission instructions.[5][6]
Filing fees vary by office and are established by Chapter 32, Section 608, of the Nebraska Revised Statutes.[7][8]
| Filing fees | |
|---|---|
| Office sought | How the fee is determined |
| United States Senator or United States Representative | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| Governor | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| Secretary of state | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| State auditor | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| State treasurer | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| Attorney general | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| Public service commissioner | 1% of the office's annual salary |
| State senator | 1% of the office's annual salary |
If the office for which the candidate is filing pays only a per diem (i.e., an allowance for expenses incurred as a result of fulfilling an office's duties) or a salary of less than $500 per year, the filing fee is waived. In addition, no filing fee is required of any candidate who completes an affidavit requesting to file in forma pauperis (i.e., a person whose "income and other resources for maintenance are found to be insufficient for meeting the cost of his or her requirements and whose cash or other available resources do not exceed the maximum available resources that an eligible individual may own").[7]
For partisan candidates
See statutes: Chapter 32, Section 610 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes
To be eligible for inclusion on a partisan primary ballot, a candidate must be a registered voter of the party, if so required. A partisan candidate must complete the aforementioned paperwork and pay the filing fees required of all candidates.[9]
For independent candidates
See statutes: Chapter 32, Section 616 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes
Any registered voter who was not a candidate in the primary election and who was not registered to vote with a party affiliation on or before March 1 in the calendar year of the general election may have his or her name placed on the general election ballot either by petition or nomination by political party convention or committee. The number of signatures required for nominating petitions varies by office (see below table for more information).[10][11]
| Signature requirements | |
|---|---|
| Office sought | Number of signatures required |
| Nonpartisan office (including state legislators) filled by registered voters of a county or political subdivision | 10% of the total number of registered voters voting for governor or president at the most recent general election; not to exceed 2,000 |
| Partisan office | 4,000 signatures for candidates for statewide office of U.S. House |
For further information regarding petition requirements, see below.
2020 ballot access requirements
The table below details filing requirements for Nebraska State Senate candidates in the 2020 election cycle.
| Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamber name | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
| Nebraska State Senate | All candidates | N/A | $120.00 | 3/2/2020 | Source |
Qualifications
To be eligible to serve in the Nebraska Senate, a candidate must be:[12]
- At least 21 years of age
- A resident of Nebraska, and specifically a resident of the legislative district he or she wishes to serve, for at least one year prior to the general election
- Must not have ever been convicted of a felony
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[13] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $12,000/year | For legislators residing within 50 miles of the capitol: $55/day. For legislators residing more than 50 miles from the capitol: $151/day. |
When sworn in
Nebraska legislators assume office the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January.[14]
Nebraska political history
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.
Nebraska Party Control: 1992-2024
Seven years of Democratic trifectas • Twenty-seven years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
Presidential politics in Nebraska
2016 Presidential election results
| U.S. presidential election, Nebraska, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 33.7% | 284,494 | 0 | |
| Republican |  Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
58.7% | 495,961 | 4 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 4.6% | 38,946 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 1% | 8,775 | 0 | |
| - | Other/Write-in | 1.9% | 16,051 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 844,227 | 4 | |||
| Election results via: Federal Election Commission | |||||
Voter information
How the primary works
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Nebraska, a top-two primary system is used for the nonpartisan legislature and some other statewide races. All other primaries are semi-closed.[15]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Poll times
In Nebraska, all polling locations are open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Time and 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Nebraska is divided between Central and Mountain time zones.[16]
Registration requirements
- Check your voter registration status here.
To register to vote in Nebraska, each applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the Nebraska county in which they are registering, and at least 18 years old by the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Citizens are eligible to register to vote on January 1 of the year they will turn 18 before the November general election. People convicted of a felony are ineligible to register to vote until two years after the terms of their sentence have been completed, and individuals who have been declared mentally incompetent by a court are ineligible to register to vote.[17][18] A voter registration application can be completed in person at the county clerk or election commissioner's office, the Department of Motor Vehicles, or other state agencies. In-person registration must be completed by the third Friday preceding the election if completed at the DMV or other state agencies. In-person registration at county election offices must be completed by 6 p.m. on the second Friday before the election. Applications returned by mail must be postmarked by the third Friday before the election.[19] Online applications must be submitted by midnight on the third Friday before the election.[20]
Automatic registration
Nebraska does not practice automatic voter registration.[15]
Online registration
- See also: Online voter registration
Nebraska has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. The Nebraska State Senate enacted legislation allowing online voter registration in 2014, and the system was implemented in 2015.[21]
Same-day registration
Nebraska does not allow same-day voter registration.[15]
Residency requirements
In Nebraska, citizens can register to vote the day they become residents of the state.[19]
Verification of citizenship
Nebraska does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, "any registrant who signs this application knowing that any of the information in the application is false shall be guilty of a Class IV felony under section 32-1502 of the statutes of Nebraska. The penalty for a Class IV felony is up to two years imprisonment and twelve months post-release supervision, a fine of up to $10,000.00, or both."[22]
All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment.[23] As of January 2025, six states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.
Verifying your registration
The Voter View site, run by the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.
Voter ID requirements
Nebraska requires voters to present identification while voting.
Initiative 432, approved by Nebraska voters in November 2022, amended Article I of the state constitution to require voters to present valid photo identification in order to vote. Governor Jim Pillen (R) signed Legislative Bill 514 into law on June 1, 2023, in order to implement this policy change. Due to this legislation, Nebraska's voter ID requirement went into effect on April 1, 2024, in time for the state's 2024 primary.[24][25]
Early voting
Nebraska permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
As of February 2024, 47 states and the District of Columbia permitted no-excuse early voting.
Absentee voting
The state of Nebraska refers to its no-excuse absentee/mail-in voting option as early voting. All voters are eligible to vote absentee/mail-in in Nebraska. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee/by-mail.[26]
The last day to request an absentee ballot to be mailed is if the close of business on the second Friday preceding the election. A returned absentee ballot must then be received by election officials by 8 p.m. (CST) on Election Day.[26]
Voter guides
2020 State Cannabis Voter Guides
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Statewide Candidate List," accessed March 3, 2020
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 All About Redistricting, "Nebraska," accessed April 23, 2015
- ↑ Nebraska State Constitution, "Article III-5," accessed April 23, 2015
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "2014 Candidates Filing for Federal Office," accessed December 2, 2013
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "2014 Candidates Filing for State Office," accessed December 2, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Nebraska Revised Statutes, "Chapter 32, Section 608," accessed December 2, 2013
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Filing Fee Schedule for 2014," accessed December 2, 2013
- ↑ Nebraska Revised Statutes, "Chapter 32, Section 610," accessed December 1, 2013
- ↑ Nebraska Revised Statutes, "Chapter 32, Section 616," accessed December 3, 2013
- ↑ Nebraska Revised Statutes, "Chapter 32, Section 618," accessed December 12, 2013
- ↑ Qualifications to serve in the Nebraska Legislature
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ Nebraska Constitution, "Article III-10," accessed November 4, 2021
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed April 18, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "ncsl" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Nebraska Statutes, "Section 32-908," accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “Nebraska Voter Registration Background,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “Felon Voting Rights FAQ,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Nebraska Secretary of State, “Voter Information Frequently Asked Questions,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “Online Voter Registration Frequently Asked Questions,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Omaha World-Herald, “Online voter registration is coming to Nebraska,” September 5, 2015
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State’s Official Voter Registration Application," accessed November 1, 2024
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Full text," accessed June 8, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Election Day FAQ," accessed June 8, 2023
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Nebraska Secretary of State, “Early Voting,” accessed April 18, 2023
