The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, working with the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, is investigating nearly 20,000 petition signatures submitted by the Good Government Lincoln group that were rejected during the verification process.
Five people have been arrested on suspicion of fraud in connection with the investigation, according to Lancaster County Chief Deputy Ben Houchin.
Authorities said all five suspects are from outside Nebraska and were arrested in Nevada, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Missouri. Investigators said additional suspects remain outstanding.
Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen rejected more than 13,300 signatures because of suspected fraud. According to Wiltgen, most of the questionable signatures appeared on petitions seeking to impose term limits on Lincoln City Council members.
Investigators believe petition circulators were involved in collecting fraudulent signatures, having petitions notarized and submitting them for the proposed ballot measures.
“Nothing in our investigation makes us believe any political entity is working or affiliated with this,” Houchin said. “These are people out doing crimes.”
The petitions sought to place three proposed amendments to the Lincoln City Charter before voters, changing aspects of local elections. The effort was organized by Good Government Lincoln, a group led by former Nebraska Tax Commissioner and former state Sen. Tony Fulton.
“We support the referral of potentially fraudulent signatures to law enforcement, and we support prosecution of the fraudsters,” Fulton said in a statement. “We take the citizen-led petition process very seriously and appreciate the work the election commissioner did in flagging these irregularities. We look forward to getting answers, and in the meantime remain committed to giving voters a voice on these issues for the November ballot.”
Other members listed on the ballot question committee include political consultant and former Gov. Jim Pillen adviser Jessica Flanagain, along with Daniel Bass and Zoe Ganzman of Republican consulting firm Axiom Strategies.
Following news of the arrests, Gov. Jim Pillen said he was “deeply troubled” by what he described as “historic fraud” connected to the petition campaigns.
Pillen also criticized the Legislature’s 2015 decision to allow paid signature gathering.
“The Legislature made a terrible decision in 2015 when it repealed the prohibition on paid signature gathering,” Pillen said. “The results have been Nebraskans being harassed on the street by in-state and out-of-state signature gatherers, skyrocketing payouts per signature, and outright criminal activity.”
He urged lawmakers to restore the ban on paying petition circulators by the signature and thanked law enforcement for investigating the case.
The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office also said Friday that it will continue investigating the alleged fraud.
“The Office of the Attorney General takes petition fraud allegations seriously and will work with partnered agencies to root it out wherever it may be found and bring those who commit it to justice,” the office said in a statement. “We are committed to protecting the integrity of the petition process and maintaining public trust. When credible information arises, we dedicate the resources needed to examine each situation thoroughly. Our office enforces election laws without bias, fear, or favor.”
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