Top GOP state election official ‘baffled’ by RNC lawsuit against citizens voting

LINCOLN — Outgoing Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen said he’s baffled by a lawsuit that seeks to eliminate a provision in state law that allows U.S. citizens who’ve never lived in the country to vote in Nebraska elections.

The Republican top election official, who lost his party’s primary in May, spoke with the Examiner about a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee over a Nebraska state election law.

The RNC — joined in the lawsuit by Lancaster voters Jack Riggins and Pamela Dingman — objects to part of state law that says “a person who is the age of an elector and a citizen of the United States residing outside the United States, who has never resided in the United States, who has not registered to vote in any other state of the United States, and who has a parent registered to vote within this state shall be eligible to register to vote and vote in one county in which either one of his or her parents is a registered voter.”

Evnen said the number of people who have used this provision of the law to vote in Nebraska elections is almost nonexistent.

“Why this would now be the focus of attention of the RNC is a little baffling to me,” he said

“The same day that this lawsuit was filed, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., enjoined the use of the SAVE database … You know, people have to make up their own minds about what they want to focus on,” Evnen said. “But I don’t understand why the RNC wouldn’t be focusing on that problem, versus this problem, which may be unconstitutional, but is just almost or virtually never used.”

Late last month, a federal judge ruled the Trump administration illegally overhauled a U.S. Department of Homeland Security computer program, the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system, in its hunt for noncitizen voters. Evnen has called the SAVE database “a very useful tool.” He defended Nebraska’s use of the SAVE database because “you can’t just use that tool to disenfranchise someone if there’s an indication that someone is not a citizen; then you take further steps to give them an opportunity to correct the record if it’s wrong.”

An investigation earlier this year by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica found that the federal database has made mistakes that have led to confusion in Texas and Missouri.

The lawsuit argues that part of the law violates the state constitution because it allows U.S. citizens who have never resided in the state or country to vote in Nebraska elections. The language targeted by the RNC is from a law passed in 2005, rather than the 2010 law cited in the lawsuit, according to reporting by the Omaha World-Herald, which was confirmed by the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office. The 2005 law was passed during the George W. Bush administration, when Republicans controlled the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

The sponsor of the 2005 law was then-state lawmaker Deb Fischer, who is now a U.S. senator. Nebraska U.S. Reps. Mike Flood and Adrian Smith were in the state legislature at the time. Flood proposed a tweak to the Fischer bill, as reported by the World-Herald.

Flood, in a statement to the World-Herald, said the original purpose of the 2005 law was to give “every opportunity” for “men and women serving our country overseas” to participate in the state elections. Flood said he supports the RNC lawsuit.

Evnen said he didn’t recall any lawmakers or elected officials at the time having concerns about the law’s constitutionality. Evnen said he has turned the lawsuit over to the Attorney General. If it’s determined that part of the election law is unconstitutional, Evnen said the state won’t register people under it.

Evnen lost his primary in May to Omaha businessman Scott Petersen, who said he was campaigning to address the “trust” issue people have over election systems.

Evnen has had to walk a political tightrope in defending his office’s election work while also acknowledging the election security concerns of some primary voters.

Petersen announced his support for the RNC lawsuit in a news release, saying, “The Nebraska Constitution is clear that voting is tied to residency, and voters deserve confidence that those participating in our elections have established a lawful connection to the state.”

The Democratic Secretary of State nominee, Sarah Slattery, told ABC affiliate KETV that Republicans are “targeting voters” because Republicans don’t have “candidates that voters can get excited about and get behind.”

The RNC has filed similar lawsuits in several other states, including Colorado. A court in Michigan rejected a similar GOP effort earlier this year, though a North Carolina judge sided with the RNC in its lawsuit there.

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