By Erin Bamer | Reporter
“The language ‘legal effect of the filing of the petition’ contained in § 32-1401 does not require an initiative’s object statement to set forth every consequence that would result from the initiative measure should it be adopted by voters … Instead, based on its plain language, it requires only that the object statement informs potential petition signers whether the legal effect of the petition is a referendum, enactment of a law or a constitutional amendment.” - Nebraska Supreme Court Justice Derek Vaughn, in an opinion agreeing with a lower district court’s ruling upholding the validity of the Fairness for Girls ballot measure.
Former State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar leads a news conference for the Fairness for Girls campaign that seeks to constitutionally designate sex-separate athletics for K-12 and collegiate sports on June 30, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Julie Slama/Fairness for Girls)
EDUCATION
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the validity of a 2026 ballot measure seeking to cement sex-separate school sports requirements in the Nebraska Constitution.
Registered nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn leaves a podium in Lincoln on June 11, 2026. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)
ELECTION 2026
By Juan Salinas II
LINCOLN — Registered nonpartisan Nebraska U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn has vowed repeatedly he wouldn’t caucus with either party if he pulled off the upset in the bitter race against incumbent Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts.
Justices of the Nebraska Supreme Court (and when they were seated), front row from left: William Cassel (2012), Jeffrey Funke (2016, 2024 as chief justice) and Stephanie Stacy (2015). Back row, from left: Jason Bergevin (2025), Jonathan Papik (2018), John Freudenberg (2018) and Derek Vaughn (2026). (Courtesy of the Nebraska Judicial Branch)
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — A Republican-led challenge to overturn a state voting law allowing certain overseas voters to vote in Nebraska is over after a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling Friday.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen speaks at an election security summit with his counterparts from Iowa, Missouri and South Dakota as well as the director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Also joining the news conference was the director of the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Oct. 9, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
ICYMI
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office is among election and congressional offices nationwide that received suspicious envelopes this week.
Supporters of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people gather outside the Nebraska State Capitol every Saturday to honor Ukraine in its continued resistance to Russian invasion, including on Feb. 28, 2026, marking the four-year mark of the war. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
IMMIGRATION
By Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — More than 100,000 Ukrainians and roughly 2,000 Sudanese immigrants are bracing for the possibility they’ll lose their humanitarian protections by Monday.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
COMMENTARY
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Nebraskans are used to cheap energy, but the aging grid and data centers are driving costs up | Daniel Wheaton, Midwest Newsroom
Powell and Harding duel it out in Nebraska 2nd District debate | Juan Salinas II
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