Lincoln says the proposal should wait until May 2027. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers is seeking a vote in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.
Updated Sept. 3, 2026.
LINCOLN, Nebraska — A proposal to limit Lincoln City Council members to two consecutive four-year terms has cleared its signature requirement, but voters still do not have a final election date.
The Lancaster County Election Commissioner validated 5,628 signatures for the term-limit measure, enough for the proposed amendment to the Lincoln City Charter to move forward. The city and Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers are now fighting before the Nebraska Supreme Court over when voters should consider it.
Lincoln argues the measure came too late to complete the city process before the Nov. 3, 2026, general election and should instead move to the May 2027 municipal election. Hilgers argues that a petition meeting constitutional requirements must appear at the next available election.
The Nebraska Supreme Court has not yet issued a final decision resolving that dispute.
The term-limit petition secured 5,628 valid signatures
Good Government Lincoln submitted a second round of signatures in August after its first attempt fell short of the required number of valid signatures.
Election officials reviewed 8,082 signatures submitted for the term-limit proposal and accepted 5,628. The review stopped once the petition had enough valid signatures to move forward.
The measure would limit Lincoln City Council members to two consecutive four-year terms.
A citizen petition to amend Lincoln’s city charter requires signatures equal to at least 5% of the votes cast for governor within the city in the previous gubernatorial election.
Lincoln says the city process could not be completed by Sept. 1
Lincoln City Attorney Yohance Christie argues that validating the signatures does not, by itself, complete the municipal process required before a charter amendment reaches voters.
The city process can include legal review, consideration of possible alternatives, review by the Charter Revision Commission, public notice, City Council meetings, a public hearing and a council vote before a proposal is certified for an election.
Lincoln argues Good Government Lincoln did not secure signature validation early enough to finish those steps before the Sept. 1 deadline for certifying local ballot measures for the November election.
Under the city’s interpretation, the qualifying proposals would move to Lincoln’s next general municipal election in May 2027.
Hilgers wants the proposals on the Nov. 3 ballot
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers took the dispute directly to the Nebraska Supreme Court after Lincoln declined to place the measures on the November ballot.
Hilgers argues that the Nebraska Constitution requires the city to submit a valid citizen-initiated charter amendment at the next general or special election held more than 30 days after the petition is filed.
Article XI, Section 4 of the Nebraska Constitution states that a proposed charter amendment submitted by the required number of voters must be placed before voters at the next general or special election held more than 30 days after the petition is filed.
The legal fight now centers on how that constitutional requirement interacts with Lincoln’s municipal procedures and Nebraska’s election-certification deadlines.
The Nebraska Supreme Court ordered Lincoln to explain why the measures were not certified
The Nebraska Supreme Court intervened Aug. 28 and directed Lincoln officials either to certify the three proposed charter amendments for the Nov. 3 election or explain why they should not be required to do so.
Lincoln responded by asking the court to dismiss Hilgers’ action. The city argues that the attorney general does not have legal authority to force Lincoln to place the proposals on the November ballot and that no clear legal duty requires the city to do so this year.
The court must now determine how the case proceeds. Until another ruling is issued, neither November 2026 nor May 2027 is a final election date established by the court.
Two other proposals would also change or limit Lincoln elections
The term-limit measure is one of three initiatives backed by Good Government Lincoln.
- Term limits: Would limit City Council members to two consecutive four-year terms.
- Election schedule: Would move Lincoln municipal elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years to align them with state and federal elections.
- Extraterritorial jurisdiction: Would allow some residents living within Lincoln’s three-mile planning jurisdiction to vote in certain city elections, with exceptions for issues such as bond measures.
All three proposals collected enough valid signatures during the second petition drive and are part of the same dispute over when voters will consider them.
The first petition drive remains under a separate investigation
The first petition effort ended with thousands of signatures rejected and a separate investigation into potentially fraudulent signatures. County authorities have made arrests connected to that investigation.
That case is separate from the second petition drive that allowed all three proposals to clear the signature threshold. Election officials validated the newer petitions after reviewing the signatures submitted in August.
Related: Hola Nebraska has also tracked voter participation in Nebraska ahead of the 2026 general election.
The next Nebraska Supreme Court action will help determine whether the three proposed charter amendments can move toward the Nov. 3, 2026, election or remain off that ballot while the dispute continues.
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