Lancaster County election office warns of heavy petition workload and key filing deadlines

Todd Wiltgen, Lancaster County Election Commissioner, briefed the Board on July 9 about petition processes, current filings and the office’s expected workload ahead of the November ballot.

Wiltgen explained that statewide petitions are filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State, which distributes signature pages to counties for verification, while local initiatives and referendums are filed with the City Clerk and routed to the county for signature checks. He said Lancaster County primarily verifies local candidate filings and any recall petitions — Wiltgen specifically noted an upcoming Denton Village recall.

Wiltgen emphasized statutory thresholds and deadlines: for the City of Lincoln, ordinances and charter amendments require substantial signature counts (exhibit materials list near‑term thresholds and show ordinances requiring roughly 5% of registered voters in context, cited informally as 'nearly 10,000' in the exhibit), new political parties must gather signatures equal to one percent of the total governor vote with geographic distribution requirements, and candidate filing deadlines include August 1 for some races and September 1 for certifying special issues for the November ballot. He said his office may pause statewide verification if necessary to prioritize local petitions and political party filings, which have a 20‑day verification requirement.

Wiltgen urged early submission and clearer public information to reduce confusion and logistical bottlenecks; he said petition circulation should be largely complete by the end of July as staff shift toward November election preparations.

The briefing included Exhibit 1, which lists specific petition types, signature thresholds and deadlines. Wiltgen's office will continue to coordinate with clerks and the Secretary of State to manage high volumes of signatures in larger counties.