LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – Lawmakers rejected a last-minute amendment Thursday to keep Lincoln city elections in off years, rather than allowing city officials to tie them to statewide elections.
The amendment, from State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln, came after concerns from some Lincoln city officials that the amended Legislative Bill 521 could cause problems for the capital city. The original bill from State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha would have allowed just Omaha to move its elections, but when the proposal was amended and attached to LB 521, it added Lincoln.
The amendment to remove Lincoln from the bill failed 16-30. A reconsideration motion failed 18-26. The broader bill advanced by voice vote to the third and final round of debate.
Century-old state laws dictate the election timing for cities the size of Omaha (metropolitan class, 400,000 or more residents) and Lincoln (primary class, 100,001 to 399,999 residents).
Omaha and Lincoln city officials can already advance changes to their city charter to move election timing, but without a law such as LB 521, the changes could not be carried out.
Dungan, who said he just started talking with Lincoln officials shortly before the debate on Thursday, said Lincoln’s city charter is “significantly different” than other cities, such as Omaha. He argued LB 521 didn’t necessarily contemplate what to do with elections for Lincoln Airport Authority or Lincoln Public Schools board members.
“I would encourage my colleagues who are not from Lincoln to maybe just defer at this point,” Dungan said.
State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln asked Cavanaugh if he “would agree that what’s good for the Omaha elections to be on some sort of consistent patterns … that same logic would apply uniformly then in other areas.”
Cavanaugh responded that he would like to see the elections moved but that he would support Dungan’s motion. Cavanaugh has said the back-to-back elections can lead to voter fatigue.
Changing the elections could save about $500,000 for Lincoln and more than $1 million in Omaha.
State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, a former member of the Lincoln City Council and Lancaster County Board of Commissioners, said she would have preferred a separate hearing and proposal related to Lincoln, with more local input.
In odd-numbered years, Omaha primary elections are the first Tuesday of April, while general elections are the first Tuesday after the second Monday in May. Omaha city elections are every four years, the year after presidential elections. For Lincoln, the general election is the first Tuesday in May, and the primary election is four weeks prior, every other year.
Omaha’s general mayoral election is this Tuesday. Lincoln held its general election this week; its mayor is not on the ballot until 2027.
Of the nine senators who represent parts of Lincoln, the vote fell along party lines. Democratic State Sens. Eliot Bostar, Danielle Conrad, Dungan, Jason Prokop and Raybould, all of Lincoln, supported the carve out. Republican State Sens. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, Bosn, Rob Clements of Elmwood and Myron Dorn of Adams opposed it.
Recent Omaha/Lincoln election turnout
2025 city elections
- Omaha primary (April 1): 25.69%.
- Omaha general (May 13): (To be determined).
- Lincoln primary (April 8): 24.53%.
- Lincoln general (May 6): 22.40% (nearly 8,000 early vote ballots, about 4% turnout, will be counted later this week).
2024 statewide elections
- Omaha primary (May 14): 26.79%.
- Omaha general (Nov. 5): 75.37%.
- Lincoln primary (May 14): 15.40%.
- Lincoln general (Nov. 5): 78.02%.
2023 city elections
- Omaha primary: (N/A)
- Omaha general: (N/A)
- Lincoln primary (April 7): 33.38%.
- Lincoln general (May 2): 46.22%.
2022 statewide elections
- Omaha primary (May 10): 31.74%.
- Omaha general (Nov. 8): 53.92%.
- Lincoln primary (May 10): 33.6%.
- Lincoln general (Nov. 8): 57.57%.
2021 city elections
- Omaha primary (April 6): 28.50%.
- Omaha general (May 11): 32.74%.
- Lincoln primary (April 6): 24.86%.
- Lincoln general (May 4): 29.34%.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Aaron Sanderford for questions: [email protected].
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