Five ballot initiatives and one referendum will allow Nebraska voters to directly decide on laws during the 2024 election. 

The ballot initiatives and referendum include topics such as abortion, medical cannabis, paid sick leave, and private school scholarships. 

“The ballot measures cover four topics: abortion, medical cannabis, paid sick leave, [and] private school education scholarships,” Jackie Ourada, Public Information Officer for the Nebraska Secretary of State, said. “Voters should do their research on each ballot measure before they cast their ballot.”

Ballot initiative 434 and initiative 439 both deal with abortion. Initiative 434 aims to amend the Nebraska constitution so that abortion is illegal in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergency, sexual assault, or incest. Opponents say that the initiative gives the government too much control over Nebraskans’ healthcare, while supporters say that the initiative includes clear, scientific language and protections for women’s health.

“The vast majority of Nebraskans support well-defined, commonsense abortion limits after the first trimester of pregnancy, along with exceptions for extreme circumstances, like cases of sexual assault, incest, and medical emergencies,” Initiative 434 sponsor Protect Women and Children said in a press release. “The use of established scientific terms sets clear parameters for women and their physicians, not inviting political interference.”

Initiative 439, on the other hand, would amend the Nebraska constitution so that abortion is legal until the point of fetal viability. Opponents say that the initiative’s language is vague and unscientific and opens the door for abuse against women. Supporters argue that Initiative 439 will allow families to make their own medical decisions and doctors to provide reproductive healthcare without fear of retribution.

“Patients, families, and doctors should be in charge of making their most personal healthcare decisions when pregnant about abortion, not politicians,” Allie Berry, campaign manager for Initiative 439 sponsor Protect Our Rights, said in a press release.

Initiative 436 would enact a Nebraska law to require 56 hours of paid sick leave every year for employees at a business with 20 or more employees, or 40 hours annually for businesses with less than 20 employees. Opponents say the initiative fails to account for labor availability across the state, while supporters say that the initiative will help Nebraska workers and create a healthy community. 

“Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans came about by listening to the community. We heard from work we have done in rural areas about the need for paid sick time and that they often were threatened with their jobs if they needed to call in,” Michayla Stawinak, business organizer for the Paid Sick Leave campaign, said. “Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans focuses on ensuring that working Nebraskans are eligible to earn paid sick time and can use that time without fear of losing their source of income.”

Stawinak says that guaranteed paid sick leave will allow Nebraskans to take care of themselves without having to struggle financially. When she was working to support herself during college, Stawinak herself struggled to take time off.

“I worked as a part time employee for minimum wage and I did not have the security of paid sick time. I found myself showing up to work regardless of apparent illness because those few missed hours meant I would sacrifice my meals for the week or my gas to get to class,” she said. “The idea that I could have been earning paid sick time during this stage of my life would have dramatically changed the way I view my health and the habits and culture surrounding taking care of oneself.”

Initiatives 437 and 438 both deal with medical cannabis. Initiative 437 would legalize the possession and use of up to five ounces of cannabis with a written recommendation by a doctor. Initiative 438 would establish a commission to regulate cannabis for medical use. Opponents of the initiatives argue that they are lacking in safety regulations, while supporters say that medical cannabis is proven to help treat PTSD, autism, epilepsy, and more. 

“Nebraska is one of only two states that has absolutely no form of medical cannabis program, and quite frankly, we know that Nebraskans are suffering because of that,” Garrett Connely, grassroots campaign coordinator for Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said. “When you get to meet the families and the caregivers and the people that need this, it is unlike anything else.”

Connely said it was “super exciting” when the petition was certified, especially after years of struggling to get medical cannabis on the ballot. In 2020, a petition to legalize and regulate medical marijuana was taken off the ballot after the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that it violated a rule that petitions may only contain one subject. In 2022, a similar effort, this time with legalization and regulation of medical marijuana separated into two different initiatives, failed to get enough signatures.

“And then this go around, we were saying, third time’s the charm,” Connely said. “We started in June of 2023, collecting signatures, and in July, we turned in 114,000 signatures on each of our petitions. And yeah, and there is currently a lawsuit trying to get us thrown off the ballot, but as of right now, we are on the ballot, and we are looking forward to Nebraskans being able to vote on this issue and have their voice heard.”

Initiatives 437 and 438 are currently being contested in Lancaster District Court by John Kuehn, a former state senator and former member of the Nebraska State Board of Health. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen and Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers formally requested that the court hear the case, in which Keuhn alleges that thousands of signatures for both petitions were validated when they should have been discarded. If this is proven to be true, votes for the medical marijuana petitions may be thrown out after the election.

“There are people in this state that are not afraid to try and silence the will of 70 to 80 percent of Nebraska voters that we know consistently have come out and signed and that have shown that they want this done,” Connely said. “And we’re upset by that, but we also know that what’s just and what’s right is going to come out in the end.” 

Referendum 435 aims to repeal a recent Nebraska law, LB1402, that provides $10 million state dollars annually to fund scholarships to private schools. Unlike an initiative, which would put a law into place, a referendum would repeal a law. Opponents of Referendum 435 say that the scholarship law should be kept in place because it allows families to choose a school environment that is right for their child without financial burden. Supporters of Referendum 435 argue that repealing the scholarship law will support public schools as opposed to private schools, which are not held to the same transparency and non-discrimination standards. 

“I’m a public school teacher… and the vouchers, and basically the idea of taxpayer dollars going to support private schools is something that I just simply think is appalling,” Tim Kaldahl, a volunteer with Referendum 435 sponsor Support Our Schools Nebraska, said. “Just terrible on every level.”

Support Our Schools’ campaign has been a years-long effort. Legislative Bill 753, which passed in May 2023, would have provided up to $25 million in tax credits for Nebraskan individuals or corporations who donate money to private school scholarships. Support Our Schools began a petition to repeal the law, but lawmakers repealed LB 753 and replaced it with LB 1402, which would provide $10 million annually in scholarships for Nebraska students attending private K-12 schools.

“It was originally two summers back. It was the LB 753 that we were trying to repeal,” Kaldahl said. “The sponsor of the original bill, her name is Senator Lou Ann Linehan at Elkhorn…. she essentially junked her own bill and replaced it with another bill… So, again, I found myself at the Gretna Farmer’s Market and other locations collecting lots and lots of petitions for two summers in a row so we could get to this point where we could finally vote on it.”

Support Our Schools launched another campaign to get the new bill, LB 1402, repealed. They garnered enough signatures– more than 86,000– to get the measure on the ballot as Referendum 435. 

“It was so crazy,” Kaldahl said. “Tens of thousands of signatures had to be collected across the state. Every county had to contribute. So it was a pretty, pretty exhausting campaign.” 

The 2024 ballot measures will allow voters to directly decide on laws. Senior Nopkamon Apichinabout, who is planning to vote in the 2024 election, says that voting is important because it allows you to express your beliefs to people in power.

“If we don’t vote, then they don’t know what your opinion is, then when they make the wrong decision, then you go complain to them,” Apichinabout said. “It’s not fair. You have to show them what your opinion is.”

In a pamphlet released by the Nebraska Secretary of State, the Secretary of State himself says that although Nebraska is a one-house legislature, ballot initiatives allow the people of Nebraska to act as the “second house”. Stawinak points out the direct impact voters can have by deciding on ballot initiatives.

“Some people haven’t heard of ballot measures before, they don’t know that this is a way for them to directly impact policies that affect them, their families, and others who may not be able to vote yet,” Stawinak said. “The fact Nebraska has a system that actually puts the law in our hands is pretty empowering in itself.”