LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale says he expects to know next week whether or not a proposal to expand Medicaid has qualified for the November general election ballot.Gale said in a statement Friday he believes the certification process will be complete by that time.
County election officials are currently processing more than 135,000 signatures that were submitted from a petition drive. At least 84,269 must be declared valid for the measure to qualify for the ballot. Additionally, organizers were required to gather signatures from at least 5 percent of the registered voters in 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties.
Gale says that, as of Friday, 56,288 signatures have been deemed valid. Of the 79 counties that have reported their totals, 42 have cleared the 5 percent signature threshold.