Omaha World Herald. October 27, 2018
Nebraska leaders should explore further options for voting by mail
Voting by mail has produced a tremendous surge in turnout in a rural Nebraska county, and state lawmakers next year should consider the options for expanding such an approach in the state.
Voters in Garden County cast ballots by mail this spring, and the 59 percent turnout was more than double the statewide turnout rate, World-Herald columnist Matthew Hansen reports.
The Legislature’s Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee can serve the public interest next year by holding a hearing about lessons to be drawn from the Garden County experience.
“It exceeded all our expectations,” Mindy Santero, Garden County’s deputy clerk and incoming county clerk, told Hansen. Secretary of State John Gale observed, “This is what democracy is all about.”
Voting by mail cuts costs and actually had ballot-security aspects that should reassure the public, Hansen reported.
State law has allowed voting by mail in rural counties and in big-city special elections for years. Four rural Nebraska counties are going all vote-by-mail for the November general election. A growing number of states have adopted or are considering encouragement of such an approach.
It appears that voting by mail can bring notable benefits, though there could be complications for large-population urban areas.
That’s all the more reason for Nebraska lawmakers to look at all the facts next year and consider the best path forward for the state. If there are sensible opportunities to expand voter participation in an efficient and secure manner, let’s pursue them.
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North Platte Telegraph. October 24, 2018
Anti-Groene flyer deserves three groans
We said it in an April 22 editorial, but we’ll say it more bluntly today to Nebraskans outside Lincoln County:
Butt out of our Unicameral election.
Though we’ve gotten out of the candidate endorsement business, we will call out false or patently misleading attacks on any of our community’s candidates for state office by groups clearly based outside District 42.
Apparently, the Nebraska State Education Association - as a Lincoln-based statewide teachers union - doesn’t think much of our intelligence “out west.”
If you got last week’s mailer from the NSEA’s political action committee, you know it wants us to believe our incumbent state senator walks in late or sits around in his Lincoln office most every morning, oblivious to the day’s opening gavel.
The NSEA’s office is right across South 14th Street from the State Capitol. Its lobbyists know better.
They’ve spun their tale from the paragraphs at the front of each day’s Legislative Journal that list which senators are “excused until they arrive.” That means they’re in the Capitol but can’t come to the floor right away. The Legislature can start its business anyway once 25 of the 49 senators check in on the floor.
Yes, Sen. Mike Groene was “excused until he arrives” 24 of 60 times this past session. Yes, that’s 40 percent. But he was in the building.
Talk about irrelevant, selective outrage for political ends.
Groene, who is Education Committee chairman - a fact the NSEA dearly hopes to change - said in an Oct. 3 Telegraph letter that committee chairs often spend much of the mornings in their offices, getting ready for afternoon public hearings. They can hear the floor debate in their offices. If a bill of their own is being debated, the Legislature is placed “under call,” or they simply feel the need, they go to the floor.
By our tally, Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, who chairs the Urban Affairs Committee, was “excused until he arrives” 29 times. He’s rightly considered one of the most hard-working, energetic and respected first-term senators.
The NSEA endorsed him for election in 2016.
Sens. Tyson Larson (General Affairs) and John Murante (Government), both term-limited, were “excused until they arrive” 14 times apiece. The tally was 10 for Sen. Curt Friesen (Transportation) and eight for Sen. John Stinner (Appropriations).
The NSEA has endorsed Friesen and Stinner for re-election.
What of Sen. Bob Krist, whom the NSEA prefers for governor over incumbent Pete Ricketts? Krist was “excused until he arrives” 11 times.
The NSEA flyer also casts aspersions on Groene’s vote for a bill to (in their words) “raise the sales tax.” The flyer’s footnotes point toward a second-round vote on a bill (LB 44) to enable the state to finally collect sales taxes from online retailers. Filibustering by Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, who opposes all sales taxes, blocked final passage.
Groene voted “yes” on LB 44. So did no fewer than 19 senators the NSEA has endorsed in either 2016 or 2018.
As for the other “problem” in this drive-by flyer - legislative pay raises - Groene has publicly supported paying senators more than $12,000 plus expenses a year, for logical reasons voiced by many current and former lawmakers.
Do Nebraskans outside a Unicameral committee chair’s home district have an interest in what happens to that senator? To some degree, yes.
But if they want to be taken seriously by western Nebraskans, they had better play it straight with the facts and actually know us well enough to know how we’ll take it if they hit below the belt.
As we said before, we don’t need the other 92 counties’ help to sort out our own Unicameral race, thank you very much.
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Lincoln Journal Star. October 28, 2018
Medicaid expansion is right for Nebraska
When the first house of state government, the Nebraska Legislature, has been unable to pass meaningful policy changes, the second house has increasingly had its say on the ballot.
This year, one statewide measure awaits voters: Initiative 427, which would put Nebraska in the company of 33 other states that have expanded Medicaid. The end result would make an estimated 90,000 Nebraskans eligible for Medicaid and allow the state to receive hundreds of millions in federal funds - which it currently pays into without receiving any - with a smaller state investment.
An examination of the ballot initiative’s numbers and impact show that it will clearly benefit Nebraskans without breaking the bank. Given the data and the anticipated benefit for hospitals in rural areas, the Journal Star editorial urges voters to say yes to Initiative 427.
Opponents are correct when they cite the cost to taxpayers, which the legislative fiscal office estimates will average $30 million per year for the first three years. But that money - a fraction of a percent of the state’s $9.1 billion in FY2018 appropriations - will be at least somewhat offset by cost savings realized elsewhere, not to mention the $400 million in federal matching funds the state could then access annually.
For one, each and every one of us already pays for people without insurance who go to the emergency room for care. The costs of this care are borne in the medical bills of those with private insurance. Medicaid expansion would increase the access to medical services among current uninsured Nebraskans, reducing the need to go to the most expensive level of care to standard treatment.
While this won’t save tax dollars, it should reduce medical and private insurance costs across the board, with a group of 17 state senators supporting the initiative estimating the savings at $300 million annually. We aren’t talking small potatoes.
As much publicity as the state’s contribution to ensure the federal funds has received, the potential to ease the tax burden on local governments has gone essentially unnoticed.
In Lancaster County alone, commissioners estimate saving $2 million from the general assistance medical fund if Initiative 427 were to pass. The money is currently used to provide health care for indigent people who don’t qualify for Medicaid.
By voting for Medicaid expansion, residents will suddenly have a significant amount of tax dollars freed up for other purposes. The decision of how and where to spend it will fall to commissioners in the state’s 93 counties, but the savings could be refunded to taxpayers through lower levy rates or used for any number of important tasks, such as maintaining and repairing counties’ roads and bridges.
When it comes to Medicaid expansion, the numbers are daunting. However, it’s clear that the initiative adds up to benefit Nebraskans - and deserves their support at the polls.
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McCook Daily Gazette. October 23, 2018.
Don’t let big jackpot open doors for scammers
If you’re like most cell phone owners, you’re probably aware that a good percentage of the calls you receive are junk calls at best, outright scams at worst.
Tonight’s record $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot presents an opportunity for crooks to steal money from hopeful, vulnerable people.
It’s actually not that difficult to spot a scam if someone reaches out to you by phone, email or social media. In short, the message is probably a scam.
Mega Millions offers some reminders:
- If you think you are being scammed on the phone, hang up immediately.
- If “winnings” are offered to be wired directly into a bank account, do not provide bank account information.
- Never give out personal information, or send money unless the company’s legitimacy is verified.
- If told to keep a lottery “win” confidential, be suspicious.
- Be suspicious if an email contains misspellings or bad grammar, or if the person on the phone uses poor English.
- If someone claims you won a lottery you have never played, be suspicious. People can’t win a legitimate lottery if a ticket isn’t purchased.
It’s always fun to dream, but don’t let a criminal take advantage of your mental adventures.
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