(AP) — An Omaha man is challenging Nebraska’s requirements for ballot-measure petitions.

Kent Bernbeck filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday that seeks to strike two restrictions in Nebraska.

The Nebraska constitution requires petitioners to gather signatures from at least 5 percent of registered voters in a minimum 38 Nebraska counties before the issue raised can appear on a ballot. State law also prohibits commission payments to petition circulators.

Bernbeck argues that both restrictions violate his federal rights to free-speech and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The lawsuit names Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale and the village clerk of Denton as defendants. Bernbeck had collected signatures on a petition in the Lancaster County village, but a judge threw out the petition because one circulator was paid per signature.