LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The ACLU of Nebraska has secured $400,000 from a national group to fight a referendum campaign that could reinstate the state’s death penalty.

The group announced the grant Friday from Proteus Action League, a group based in Amherst, Massachusetts that has given millions to organizations seeking to abolish capital punishment.

ACLU of Nebraska Executive Director Danielle Conrad says her group donated the money to Nebraskans for Public Safety, a coalition that is urging Nebraskans not to sign the referendum petition.

Conrad says the support is like “rocket fuel” for the coalition, and will help pay for “fraud watch, grassroots engagement and public education efforts.”

Death penalty supporters launched the petition drive after lawmakers voted in May to abolish the death penalty.