Court orders Nebraska candidate back on U.S. Senate ballot, says Evnen acted late

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) - Democrat Cindy Burbank will be back on the ballot for the state's U.S. Senate race after the state Supreme Court ruled Monday that the state's top election official overstepped and missed a deadline to consider complaints. "We hold that regardless of who is objecting to a candidate filing form, the plain language of § 32-624 requires that unless the written objection is made within 7 days after the filing deadline, the candidate filing form shall be deemed valid," the high court wrote. Burbank is the second Democratic candidate that Nebraska Republicans had tried to get off the ballot this cycle -- Burbank and Douglas County sheriff candidate Mark Martinez. Both have now sued successfully to reach the ballot. Both were placed back on by the Nebraska Supreme Court or a judge acting on the court's behalf. The ruling, which overturned a Lancaster County District Court decision that found Burbank had not met her "burden of proof" last week, didn't address the legal question of whether Secretary of State Bob Evnen could remove a candidate for not being a "good-faith candidate." That is the statutory wording Evnen and the Nebraska Attorney General's Office relied upon to administratively remove Burbank following receipt of a formal complaint from the Nebraska Republican Party. Attorneys for Evnen and the Nebraska Republican Party had argued that Burbank's campaign website and comments from Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb indicated Burbank did not plan to serve in Congress but planned to compete for the nomination and eventually support registered nonpartisan Dan Osborn. But Burbank's legal team argued the decision to remove her from the ballot violated her First Amendment rights and the U.S. Constitution's qualifications clause. Burbank's attorneys argued voters should be able to decide the nominee and that the same scrutiny should be applied to the other Democrat in the Senate race, William Forbes, whom some have alleged is trying to help U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb. The Nebraska GOP's attorney rejected that characterization of Forbes, saying there is no "proof." Forbes has sidestepped a question about whether he wanted to address allegations of being "loyal" to Ricketts. State law says the secretary can reject someone if someone objects to their candidacy and the secretary agrees. The court wrote that the NEGOP complaint arrived too late to be considered, and it said Evnen lacked the legal ability to boot Burbank after the same 7-day window after the filing deadline. Burbank will now face Forbes, an anti-abortion pastor, for the Democratic nomination in the Senate race. The outcome of that primary could determine whether the general election ballot is cleared for Osborn in his nonpartisan bid against Republican Ricketts, who faces nominal opposition in his own party's primary. Burbank has said on her campaign website that she would drop out if she won the nomination and support Osborn because she wants to give him a "fair shot against Ricketts." Nebraska's 2026 Senate race faces competing allegations of planted candidates. Legal Marijuana NOW Party candidate Mike Marvin has been accused by the marijuana party's former chair, Mark Elworth Jr., of being a "Dan Osborn plant" on the party's Facebook page -- pointing to Marvin's union ties and actions taken by Osborn supporters in 2024 to win the party's nomination and drop out to keep competing names off the general election ballot. Osborn is a former Omaha union leader. Marvin has said he's not a "plant." Ricketts, a former two-term governor, is expected to win the GOP nomination. Osborn is gathering signatures to get on the November ballot as a registered nonpartisan. Signatures are due Aug 3. Kleeb, in a statement for the Nebraska Democratic Party on Monday, said, "Republicans are so afraid of voters that they'd rather fight in courtrooms than compete at the ballot box." "Nebraska Republicans should focus on earning votes, not erasing them," she said. "The Nebraska Democratic Party is out listening." An Evnen spokesperson said Burbank would be included on the May primary ballot after the court ruling. His office had announced that the 2026 Nebraska primary election ballot was certified late last week, after consulting with the AG's Office. The high court ordered Evnen to add her anyway. Nebraska's primary election is May 12. The general election is Nov. 3.