An investigation into suspected fraudulent petition signatures in Nebraska has widened to cover all four statewide citizen initiatives headed toward possible placement on the November ballot, while authorities continue examining signatures collected for a former gubernatorial candidate.
Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said investigators are reviewing “thousands and thousands” of signatures. The office has not established a final number because the examination remains time-consuming.
The four statewide measures would legalize and regulate online sports betting, restrict school sports participation according to sex at birth, and raise the legislative threshold for changing voter-approved laws. The investigation now reaches nearly every petition circulated during the election cycle, representing more than 750,000 signatures.
Online Betting Measures Under Review
Two of the measures come from Tax Relief Nebraska and seek to expand Nebraska’s sports betting market to online operators. One constitutional amendment petition collected more than 201,000 signatures against a requirement of about 126,000. A second proposal, which would establish taxation and regulation for online sports betting, gathered 146,000 signatures while needing about 88,000.
Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen previously reported concerns about potentially fraudulent signatures to state officials and the sheriff’s office. Tax Relief Nebraska said it had not received direct communication from either office about the allegations.
Sponsor Jordan McGrain said: “We remain very confident that we submitted enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, and if any circulator was found to have committed fraud, they should be identified and prosecuted. Our goal is to collect signatures to get on the ballot, so fraud doesn’t help anybody.”
The campaign has received more than US$1.1 million each from FanDuel and DraftKings, according to an April report. Research from Eilers and Krejcik Gaming estimated online sports betting could generate about US$87 million in state tax revenue during its first five years.
Investigation Reaches Other Campaigns
The sheriff’s investigation began after authorities discovered thousands of allegedly fraudulent signatures connected to Good Government Lincoln’s proposed Lincoln City Charter amendments. Five out-of-state circulators were arrested, and Houchin announced another arrest involving Michael Smith, 28, of St. Louis. Authorities are still seeking one additional suspect.
The original five defendants face two felony counts each for allegedly falsifying circulator oaths. They have waived extradition, while Houchin said he could not provide a timeline for their return because of safety concerns.
Investigators also examined signatures collected for former state Sen. Brett Lindstrom’s nonpartisan gubernatorial campaign. The Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office referred allegations involving those petitions to the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. In Lancaster County, fewer than 25% of Lindstrom’s signatures were valid.
Campaigns connected to the statewide initiatives have responded differently. Tax Relief Nebraska said its signature validation process included checks intended to remove invalid submissions.
Jessica Flanagain, assisting the Fairness For Girls campaign, said: “Fairness For Girls was a much larger project. There were a lot more managers, so one manager couldn’t tank an entire initiative petition.”
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen must determine by Sept. 11 whether the four initiatives have enough valid signatures for the Nov. 3 ballot.
Source:
“Petition fraud investigation expands to all 2026 Nebraska-wide ballot measures”, nebraskaexaminer.com, August 19, 2026
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