Nebraska Secretary of State
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Current officeholder
The current officeholder is John A. Gale. He was first elected to the statewide governmental position in 2002 and was subsequently re-elected in 2006 and 2010.
Authority
The state Constitution addresses the office of secretary of state in Article IV, the Executive Department.
Under Article IV, Section I:
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The executive officers of the state shall be the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of Public Accounts, State Treasurer, Attorney General, and the heads of such other executive departments as set forth herein or as may be established by law. |
Qualifications
There are no specific qualifications for this office.
Elections
The Office of Secretary of State is a publicly elected position with elections held every four years. Elections are held in November and officers assume their duties the following January. There are no term limits. (Nebraska Constitution, Article IV § 1)
Duties
The secretary of state serves as the chief election officer of the state. The Elections Division is responsible for the election process in Nebraska. Duties include accepting filings and tabulating results for statewide, legislative, judicial retention and certain district elections; accepting filings for statewide initiative and referendum petitions; administering election law; and supervising the conduct of elections. The division is responsible for implementing reforms under the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
Voter Information
The secretary of state is also charged with the duty to educate the voters in Nebraska. This is does though the Voter Information Pamphlet, Public Hearings and publication of the ballot.
Role in the initiative process
The first step in filing an initiative in Nebraska is to submit a copy of the text and the object clause for the petition to the secretary of state's office. The sponsor also needs to supply a sworn list of sponsors when submitting the initiative.
The secretary of state then sends the language to the Revisor of Statutes who reviews the language to see if it fits into the constitution or statues clearly and uniformly. This process must be completed within 10 days before it must be returned to the Secretary of State. Sponsors are informed of the recommended changes by the secretary of state but may choose to accept or reject the office's suggestions. These changes remain confidential for the duration of the 5 day review but are released as public record after the language is settled.
Once the final form is given to the sponsor the language of the measure may not be changed, but if it become necessary the entire process must start again.
Signature Verification
When sponsors submit the petitions to the secretary of state, they must submit it no less than four months prior to the general election with all the signatures separated by county. The secretary of state will then check that there are at least the minimum required amount of signatures before beginning the verification process.
If there are enough signatures the petitions are sent to the local election officials to be compared with he voter registration records. This process must be completed in 40 days after receiving the signatures, though in some circumstances an additional 10 days is allowed.
When the signatures are verified, the measure is placed on the general election ballot.
Electoral history
2002
- 2002 Race for Secretary of State - Republican Primary
- John Gale ran unopposed in this contest
| 2002 Race for Secretary of State - General Election [1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party |  a John A. Gale
| 62.1% | |
| Democratic Party | Jay C. Stoddard | 29.7% | |
| Independent | Joseph A. Rosberg | 6.2% | |
| Libertarian Party | Tudor Lewis | 2.0% | |
| Total Votes | 441,934 | ||
2006
- 2006 Race for Secretary of State - Republican Primary
- John Gale ran unopposed in this contest
| 2006 Race for Secretary of State - General Election [2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party | a John A. Gale
| 61.3% | |
| Democratic Party | Jay C. Stoddard | 33.6% | |
| Green Party | Doug Paterson | 1.8% | |
| Total Votes | 549,860 | ||
2010
Republican Primary
- 2010 Race for Secretary of State - Republican Primary
- John Gale ran unopposed in this contest
Democratic Primary
- 2010 Race for Secretary of State - Democratic Primary
- Janet Stewart ran unopposed in this contest
General Election
| 2010 Race for Secretary of State - General Election [3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party | a John A. Gale
| 69.8% | |
| Democratic Party | Janet Stewart | 30.2% | |
| Total Votes | 467,995 | ||
Compensation
The state Constitution addresses compensation for state executive officials in Article IV, Section 25.
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The officers provided for in this article shall receive such salaries as may be provided by law. Such officers, or such other officers as may be provided for by law, shall not receive for their own use any fees, costs, or interest upon public money in their hands. |
In 2010, the Nebraska Secretary of State was paid an estimated $85,000 according to the Council of State Governments.[4]
Contact information
Capitol Address:
Nebraska Secretary of State
Post Office Box 94608
Lincoln, NE 68509-4608
Phone: (402) 471-2554
Fax: (402) 471-3237
E-mail: secretaryofstate@sos.ne.gov
See also
- John A. Gale, Nebraska Secretary of State
- Governor of Nebraska
- Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska
- Attorney General of Nebraska
- Nebraska Constitution
External links
- Office of the Nebraska Secretary of State
- Election administration website of the Nebraska Secretary of State
- Initiative and Referendum Process
References
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