Editing Nebraska (section)

==Law and government==
{{main|Government of Nebraska}}

{{PresHead|place=Nebraska|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=31&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|title=Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Nebraska|publisher=US Election Atlas|access-date=January 2, 2023|author=Leip, David|archive-date=January 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103013146/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=31&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|564,816|369,995|17,371|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|556,846|374,583|24,954|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|495,961|284,494|63,777|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|475,064|302,081|17,234|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|452,979|333,319|14,983|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|512,814|254,328|11,044|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|433,862|231,780|31,377|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|363,467|236,761|77,187|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|344,346|217,344|177,593|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|398,447|259,646|4,279|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|460,054|187,866|4,170|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|419,937|166,851|54,066|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|359,705|233,692|14,271|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|406,298|169,991|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|321,163|170,784|44,904|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|276,847|307,307|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|380,553|232,542|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|378,108|199,029|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|421,603|188,057|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|264,774|224,165|1|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|329,880|233,246|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|352,201|263,677|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|247,731|347,445|12,847|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|201,177|359,082|9,878|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|345,745|197,959|3,440|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|218,585|137,289|108,299|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|247,498|119,608|15,637|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|117,771|158,827|10,717|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|54,226|109,008|86,249|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|126,997|131,099|8,703|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|138,558|52,921|34,253|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|121,835|114,013|5,582|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|103,064|115,007|5,111|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|87,213|24,943|88,036|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1888|Republican|108,425|80,552|13,655|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1884|Republican|76,912|54,391|2,899|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1880|Republican|54,979|28,523|3,950|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1876|Republican|31,915|17,413|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1872|Republican|18,329|7,603|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresFoot|1868|Republican|9,772|5,519|0|Nebraska}}
[[File:United States presidential election in Nebraska, 2016.svg|thumb|left|upright=1.25|[[Treemap]] of the popular vote by county, 2016 presidential election]]
{{clear}}
[[Government of Nebraska|The Government of Nebraska]] operates under the framework of the [[Constitution of Nebraska|Nebraska Constitution]], adopted in 1875,<ref>[http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/state/state-p6.html "Nebraska as a State".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202081819/http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/state/state-p6.html |date=December 2, 2008 }} [http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/hon_tabl.html ''Andreas's History of the State of Nebraska''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529112742/http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/hon_tabl.html |date=May 29, 2009 }}. Retrieved February 18, 2010.</ref> and is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

===Executive branch===
{{Further|Governor of Nebraska}}The head of the executive branch is [[Governor of Nebraska|Governor]] [[Jim Pillen]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Governor of Nebraska |url=https://governor.nebraska.gov/ |website=governor.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=April 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427145852/https://governor.nebraska.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Governor of Nebraska is the [[head of government]] of the [[U.S. state]] of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the [[Constitution of Nebraska]].  Other elected officials in the executive branch<ref>{{cite web |title=State of Nebraska |url=https://www.nebraska.gov/government/executive-branch/ |website=nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426193740/https://www.nebraska.gov/government/executive-branch/ |url-status=live }}</ref> are [[Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska|Lieutenant Governor]] [[Joe Kelly (attorney)|Joe Kelly]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska |url=https://ltgov.nebraska.gov/ |website=ltgov.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=April 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418002736/https://ltgov.nebraska.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Nebraska Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Mike Hilgers]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Attorney General |url=https://ago.nebraska.gov/about |website=ago.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |language=en |archive-date=April 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412110054/https://ago.nebraska.gov/about |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Secretary of State of Nebraska|Secretary of State]] [[Bob Evnen]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Secretary of State |url=https://sos.nebraska.gov/ |website=sos.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=June 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603080315/https://sos.nebraska.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[State Treasurer]] [[John Murante]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska State Treasurer |url=https://treasurer.nebraska.gov/about-the-treasurer.aspx |website=treasurer.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=October 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211014213642/https://treasurer.nebraska.gov/about-the-treasurer.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[State Auditor]] [[Mike Foley (Nebraska politician)|Mike Foley]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts |url=https://auditors.nebraska.gov/About_Us/AboutAuditor.html |website=auditors.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=November 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118111524/https://auditors.nebraska.gov/About_Us/AboutAuditor.html |url-status=live }}</ref> All elected officials in the executive branch serve four-year terms.

===Legislative branch===

{{Further|Nebraska Legislature|Nebraska State Capitol}}

Nebraska is the only state in the United States with a 'single-house' [[Unicameralism|unicameral]] legislature.<ref name="Unicameral History">{{cite web |title=Nebraska Legislature |url=https://nebraskalegislature.gov/about/history_unicameral.php |website=nebraskalegislature.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304185859/https://nebraskalegislature.gov/about/history_unicameral.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Although this house is officially known simply as the "[[Nebraska Legislature|Legislature]]", and more commonly called the "Unicameral", its members call themselves "senators". Nebraska's Legislature is also the only [[State legislature (United States)|state legislature]] in the United States that is officially [[Non-partisan democracy|nonpartisan]]. The senators are elected with no party affiliation next to their names on the ballot, and members of any party can be elected to the positions of speaker and committee chairs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Legislature - on Unicameralism |url=https://nebraskalegislature.gov/about/ou_facts.php |website=nebraskalegislature.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426192629/https://nebraskalegislature.gov/about/ou_facts.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The Nebraska Legislature can also override the governor's veto with a three-fifths majority, in contrast to the two-thirds majority required in some other states.

When Nebraska became a state in 1867, its legislature consisted of two houses: a House of Representatives and a Senate. For years, U.S. Senator [[George W. Norris|George Norris]] (Senator 1913–1943) and other Nebraskans encouraged the idea of a unicameral legislature and demanded the issue be decided in a [[referendum]]. Norris argued:<ref name="Unicameral History" />
{{blockquote|The constitutions of our various states are built upon the idea that there is but one class. If this be true, there is no sense or reason in having the same thing done twice, especially if it is to be done by two bodies of men elected in the same way and having the same jurisdiction.}} Unicameral supporters also argued that a [[bicameralism|bicameral]] legislature had a significant undemocratic feature in the committees that reconciled House and Senate legislation. Votes in these committees were secretive, and would sometimes add provisions to bills that neither house had approved.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Legislature |url=https://nebraskalegislature.gov/about/ou_experience.php |website=nebraskalegislature.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426192630/https://nebraskalegislature.gov/about/ou_experience.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Nebraska's unicameral legislature today has rules that bills can contain only one subject,<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Legislature |url=https://nebraskalegislature.gov/about/lawmaking.php |website=nebraskalegislature.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426192630/https://nebraskalegislature.gov/about/lawmaking.php |url-status=live }}</ref> and must be given at least five days of consideration. In 1934, due in part to the budgetary pressure of the [[Great Depression]], Nebraska citizens ran a state initiative to vote on a constitutional amendment creating a unicameral legislature, which was approved, which, in effect, abolished the House of Representatives (the lower house).<ref name="Unicameral History" />

The Legislature meets in the third [[Nebraska State Capitol]] building, built between 1922 and 1932. It was designed by [[Bertram Goodhue|Bertram G. Goodhue]]. Built from [[Indiana Limestone]], the capitol's base is a cross within a square. A 400-foot (122 m) domed tower rises from this base. The Sower, a 19-foot (5.8 m) bronze statue representing agriculture, crowns the building.

===Judicial branch===
{{Further|Courts of Nebraska}}

The judicial system in Nebraska is unified, with the [[Nebraska Supreme Court]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Supreme Court |url=https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/supreme-court |website=supremecourt.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |date=30 June 2016 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426195256/https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/supreme-court |url-status=live }}</ref> having administrative authority over all the courts within the state.<ref name="Judicial Branch">{{cite web |title=Nebraska Supreme Court |url=https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/branch-overview |website=supremecourt.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |date=1 July 2016 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426195249/https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/branch-overview |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nebraska uses the [[Missouri Plan]] for the selection of judges at all levels, including [[Nebraska County Courts|county courts]] (as the lowest-level courts)<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Supreme Court |url=https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/county-courts |website=supremecourt.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |date=30 June 2016 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426195246/https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/county-courts |url-status=dead }}</ref> and twelve [[Nebraska District Courts|district courts]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Supreme Court |url=https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/districts |website=supremecourt.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |date=20 April 2017 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426195301/https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/districts |url-status=live }}</ref> which contain one or more counties. The [[Nebraska Court of Appeals|Court of Appeals]] hears appeals from the district courts,<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Supreme Court |url=https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/district-court |website=supremecourt.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |date=30 June 2016 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426195252/https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/district-court |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Nebraska Juvenile Courts|juvenile courts]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Supreme Court |url=https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/separate-juvenile-courts |website=supremecourt.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |date=30 June 2016 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426195258/https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/separate-juvenile-courts |url-status=live }}</ref> and workers' compensation courts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nebraska Supreme Court |url=https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/workers-compensation-court |website=supremecourt.nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |date=30 June 2016 |archive-date=March 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309003310/http://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courts/workers-compensation-court |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Federal representation===
{{Further|United States congressional delegations from Nebraska}}
[[File:Nebraska State Capitol Highsmith.jpeg|thumb|The [[Nebraska State Capitol]] in [[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]]]]

Nebraska is represented in the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Deb Fischer]],<ref name="Federal Representatives">{{cite web |title=State of Nebraska |url=https://www.nebraska.gov/government/federal-government/ |website=nebraska.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426201656/https://www.nebraska.gov/government/federal-government/ |url-status=live }}</ref> who was first elected in [[2012 United States Senate election in Nebraska|2012]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=About Deb Fischer |title=United States Senator Deb Fischer |url=https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/biography |website=www.fischer.senate.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=April 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427132006/https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/biography |url-status=live }}</ref> Nebraska's other Senate seat is currently held by [[Pete Ricketts]], who took office on January 23, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hammel |first=Paul |date=December 5, 2022 |title=Ben Sasse makes it official, will resign U.S. Senate seat Jan. 8 |url=https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/ben-sasse-makes-it-official-will-resign-u-s-senate-seat-jan-8/ |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=Nebraska Examiner |language=en-US |archive-date=October 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001064323/https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/ben-sasse-makes-it-official-will-resign-u-s-senate-seat-jan-8/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Nebraska has three representative seats in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]].<ref name="Federal Representatives" /> Until the next election, Nebraska's representatives are [[Mike Flood (politician)|Mike Flood]] (R) of the [[Nebraska's 1st congressional district|1st district]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mikefloodfornebraska.com/|website=mikefloodfornebraska.com|title=Mike Flood for U.S. Congress|date=June 28, 2022|access-date=July 13, 2022|archive-date=February 16, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216081232/https://mikefloodfornebraska.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Don Bacon]] (R) of the [[Nebraska's 2nd congressional district|2nd district]],<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Representative Don Bacon |url=https://bacon.house.gov/about/about-don.htm |website=bacon.house.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304085140/https://bacon.house.gov/about/about-don.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Adrian Smith (politician)|Adrian Smith]] (R) of the [[Nebraska's 3rd congressional district|3rd district]].<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Representative Adrian Smith |url=https://adriansmith.house.gov/about |website=adriansmith.house.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |date=3 December 2012 |archive-date=April 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427203843/https://adriansmith.house.gov/about |url-status=live }}</ref>

Nebraska is one of two states ([[Maine]] is the other) that allow for a split in the state's allocation of [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral votes]] in [[United States presidential election|presidential elections]].<ref>{{cite web |title=National Archives |url=https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/allocation |website=archives.gov |access-date=26 April 2022 |date=19 September 2019 |archive-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210024436/https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/allocation |url-status=live }}</ref> Under a 1991 law, two of Nebraska's five votes are awarded to the winner of the statewide popular vote, while the other three go to the highest vote-getter in each of the state's three [[List of United States congressional districts|congressional districts]].

===Politics===
{{Further|Political party strength in Nebraska}}

For most of its history, Nebraska has been a solidly [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] state. Republicans have carried the state in all but one presidential election since [[1940 United States presidential election|1940]]: the [[1964 United States presidential election|1964 landslide election]] of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. In the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 presidential election]], [[George W. Bush]] won the state's five electoral votes by a margin of 33 percentage points (making Nebraska's the fourth-strongest Republican vote among states) with 65.9% of the overall vote; only [[Thurston County, Nebraska|Thurston County]], which is majority-[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]], voted for his [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] challenger [[John Kerry]]. In [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]], the state split its electoral votes for the first time: Republican [[John McCain]] won the popular vote in Nebraska as a whole and two of its three congressional districts; the second district, which includes the city of Omaha, went for Democrat [[Barack Obama]]. Since then, the state has split its electoral vote twice, with the second district going for the Democratic Party candidates [[Joe Biden]] in [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]] and [[Kamala Harris]] in [[2024 United States presidential election|2024]].

Despite the current Republican domination of Nebraska politics, the state has a long tradition of electing [[Centrism|centrist]] members of both parties to state and federal office; examples include [[George W. Norris]] (who served a few years in the Senate as an independent), [[J. James Exon]], [[Bob Kerrey]], and [[Chuck Hagel]]. Voters have tilted to the right in recent years, a trend evidenced when Hagel retired from the Senate in 2008 and was succeeded by conservative Republican [[Mike Johanns]] to the U.S. Senate, as well as with the 2006 re-election of [[Ben Nelson]], who was considered the most conservative Democrat in the Senate until his retirement in 2013. Johanns retired in 2015 and was succeeded by [[Ben Sasse]], while Nelson retired in 2013 and was succeeded by [[Deb Fischer]], both conservative Republicans.

Though its politics are generally conservative, the state also has a history of progressive reform. Nebraska was the first U.S. state to [[Marital rape in the United States|outlaw sexual assault within a marriage]], in 1975.<ref name="Polisi">{{cite web |last1=Johnston Polisi |first1=Caroline |title=Spousal Rape Laws Continue to Evolve |url=https://womensenews.org/2009/07/spousal-rape-laws-continue-evolve/ |website=[[Women's eNews]] |access-date=June 6, 2021 |date=July 1, 2009 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625071249/https://womensenews.org/2009/07/spousal-rape-laws-continue-evolve/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1980 it became the first U.S. state to [[Disinvestment from South Africa|divest from South Africa]] to protest the racist system of [[apartheid]].<ref name="Lansing1981">{{cite journal |last=Lansing |first=Paul |date=1981 |title=The Divestment of United States Companies in South Africa and Apartheid |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2025&context=nlr |journal=Nebraska Law Review |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=301 |access-date=June 6, 2021 |archive-date=June 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606202851/https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2025&context=nlr |url-status=live }}</ref>

Former President [[Gerald Ford]] was born in Nebraska but moved away shortly after birth. [[Illinois]] native [[William Jennings Bryan]] represented Nebraska in Congress, served as [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretary of State]] under President [[Woodrow Wilson]], and unsuccessfully ran for president three times. Former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] was born in [[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]] but moved to  [[Casper, Wyoming|Casper]].

{| class=wikitable style="float:center"
! colspan = 6 | Party registration as of October 1, 2024<ref>{{cite web|title=Registration Statistics|date=March 1, 2023|access-date=March 3, 2023|url=https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/voter-registration-statistics|archive-date=June 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603034857/https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/voter-registration-statistics|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! colspan = 2 | Party
! Total voters
! Percentage
|-
| {{party color cell|Republican Party (US)}}
| [[Nebraska Republican Party|Republican]]
| align=center | 623,229
| align=center | 49.30%
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (US)}}
| [[Nebraska Democratic Party|Democratic]]
| align=center | 337,289
| align=center | 26.68%
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent politician}}
| [[Independent voter|Nonpartisan]]
| align=center | 275,247
| align=center | 21.77%
|-
| {{party color cell|Libertarian Party (US)}}
| [[Libertarian Party of Nebraska|Libertarian]]
| align=center | 17,963
| align=center | 1.42%
|-
| {{party color cell|Legal Marijuana Now Party}}
| Other/minor parties
| align=center | 8,739
| align=center | 0.69%
|-
! colspan = 2 | Total
! align=center | 1,264,040
! align=center | 100.00%
|}