The north end of the County City Building. (Jeff Motz/KFOR News)LINCOLN–(KFOR Sept. 9)–A ruling Wednesday by the Nebraska Supreme Court has cleared the way for three Lincoln city charter amendment petitions to appear on the November 3 general election ballot. The court says the City of Lincoln must place those amendment on the ballot, stating the city does not have the authority to apply local administrative rules and procedures to delay placing a certified petition on the ballot of the next general election. Justices also defined “next general election,” saying that the next statewide general election meant November 2026 rather than the next city general election in May 2027 because the statewide election is the next regular, automatically recurring election. The three city charter amendments submitted by Good Government Lincoln would aim to change the dates of city elections, let certain residents outside city limits vote in municipal elections and place term limits on Lincoln City Council members during the Nov. 3 election. In July, the Good Government Lincoln Project submitted the first batch of petitions signatures. However, more than 65% of those signatures were rejected by the Lancaster County election commissioner, with about 70% of those rejected alleged to have been fraudulent. The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office has arrested six people from out-of-state since the investigation began. Reacting to Wednesday’s supreme court ruling, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers issued the following statement, saying, ““The Court’s decision today is important not only for the citizens of Lincoln, but for the rule of law in Nebraska. The Lincoln voters did the hard work of gathering enough signatures to earn a spot on the November ballot. Unfortunately, Lincoln’s elected officials decided to play political games instead of obeying the Constitution. I am grateful to the Supreme Court for protecting the right of the People of Lincoln to participate in their government at the ballot box this Fall. City officials do not get to ignore the Constitution. My office will continue to stand up for the rights of Nebraskans whenever local governments try to sideline them.” Also on Wednesday, Lincoln City Attorney Yohance Christie issued the following statement: “The Nebraska Supreme Court has spoken, and we will comply with their order. We are disappointed that the review and approval timeline has been shortened due to alleged fraud in the Good Government ballot initiative process. “We share Justice Stacy’s concern in her dissenting opinion that requiring the City Council to submit these local matters to Lincoln voters at the November statewide general election creates conflicts with provisions of the City’s home rule charter and established timelines under the Election Act. We are concerned that sacrificing steps in the public process undermines public understanding and confidence in the ballot process and does not allow for adequate time to educate the public on the impacts of the charter amendments. Nevertheless, the City will move forward and will place the charter amendments and any alternatives on the November ballot,” City Attorney Christie said.   ...read more read less