The only thing more foreign to me than federal politics is state politics. These are rarely covered on social media, so there is truly no easy information about it. Don’t worry! I took the time to find the information about the state-level ballot so you don’t have to.
In this election, we will vote on six different measures, a member of the Board of Education and a new member of the Board of Regents.
Board of Education:
The Nebraska State Board of Education elects a new Board member every four years. This year, it is District 3 (or our) turn! The Board of Education oversees everything involving academic, legal, and financial matters in the state of Nebraska. For our district, there are two candidates.
Lisa Schonhoff (Nonpartisan) – Lisa Schonhoff is a nonpartisan candidate for this election, which means she is not part of a political party. Two things she stands for are parents having a say in the student’s education and protecting girls sports.
Bill McAllister (Nonpartisan) – Bill McAllister is the other nonpartisan candidate for this election, as he is not part of any party. Like Lisa Schonhoff, he supports parental rights in student education and protecting girls sports. He also believes in academic transparency, meaning that parents should be able to see what the students are learning.
Board of Regents at University of Nebraska:
The Board of Regents elects a new member every six years, and this is District 3’s year. The Board of Regents selects a President for the Universities of Nebraska, and approves tuition and budget rates. In this election, there is only one candidate.
Jim Scheer (Nonpartisan) – Jim Scheer was born and raised in Norfolk, and has held a lot of government jobs in the past. For example, he is the current Norfolk mayor, and also served on a few legislative committees. A fun fact about Scheer is he owns an insurance agency on top of his other jobs to this day.
Measures:
Measures are simply defined as amendments at the state level that we can vote on. There are six measures on this ballot, and we are going to go through each one.
To read the full text of all these measures, you can go to https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/2024-elections and learn more.
Measure 434 – Protecting Women and Children’s Rights. This measure seeks to limit the right to abortion to the first trimester; this is the current law. By voting yes, you are supporting the prohibition of abortion after the first trimester. Voting no means you oppose this amendment, and wish to leave abortion up to the women’s discretion throughout the entire pregnancy.
Measure 435 – Private Education Scholarship Program. This measure seeks to retain the ability for the state to give scholarships to underprivileged kids for them to go to private school if they so choose. The Nebraska state treasurer is in charge of this and can award up to 10 million dollars. By voting yes, you support keeping this practice. By voting no, you wish to repeal, or get rid of, this practice.
Measure 436 – Paid Sick Leave Initiative. This measure would give employees required sick leave (7 days for businesses of 20+ employees, 5 days for businesses of fewer than 20 employees). If you vote yes, you support this initiative and wish for it to be put into action. If you vote no, you reject this bill, and want absences to stay the way they have previously.
Measure 437 – Medical Marijuana Legalization. This measure seeks to legalize the use of five ounces of marijuana strictly for medical purposes. By voting yes, you support this legalization and wish for medical marijuana to be legal. By voting no on this measure, you stand by the current standing of Nebraska, which prohibits all forms of marijuana in its borders.
Measure 438 – Medical Marijuana Regulation Initiative. This measure goes hand in hand with the last one, because it will repeal the act of banning marijuana in the borders of Nebraska. By voting yes, you support repealing the penalties and the establishment of the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to help regulate the medical marijuana industry. By voting no, you oppose the legalization of marijuana, and wish to keep things how they have been.
Measure 439 – Right to Abortion Initiative. This measure is similar to 434, but it is slightly altered. Instead of restricting abortion to the first trimester, this measure calls for abortion to be legal until fetal viability, which means when the fetus can live outside the womb (around 22 weeks or the end of the second trimester). By voting yes to this measure, you believe abortion should be legal all the way until fetal viability. By voting no to this measure, you oppose the idea of abortion being allowed until fetal viability.
Check out the final part of this trilogy next week, when I cover the local elections and measures!
