Nebraska Supreme Court clears the way for two new Nebraska political parties

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Working People Party and America First Party will become official parties in Nebraska after the state Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a Lancaster District Court judge’s decision dismissing objections from the state’s two major parties.

The new parties have submitted their constitutions and leadership to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office. Shortly after the ruling, Secretary of State Bob Evnen certified the parties Wednesday afternoon.

In the case involving the Nebraska Working People Party, Lancaster District Court Judge Darla Ideus had said the Nebraska Democratic Party and National Working Families Party filed their objections too late. In the other case, Ideus ruled that state law doesn’t address the “confusion” that the Republican Party claimed the America First Party’s name would cause for voters.

GOP lawyers sought to give the state’s top election official authority to reject a party or candidate. 

“In the absence of any language in the statutory text giving the Secretary of State the broad authority for which the Republican Party argues, we will not recognize such authority,” part of the high court ruling reads. 

The Supreme Court’s order also reaffirms that the Democratic Party filed their objection to the secretary of state past the seven-day window, saying the court found “no merit” to the Democratic Party’s argument that “they are being subjected to an ‘ex post facto objection deadline.’”

Attorneys for the Nebraska Democratic Party and the national Working Families Party had sought to compel Evnen to remove the Nebraska Working People Party because its name is too similar to the Working Families Party.

The next step for the new parties is to nominate candidates for races.

It’s unclear which races will have candidates from these two new parties, but the deadline to file names for the Nov. 3 general election is Sept. 1. Former 2nd Congressional District candidate Kishla Askins told the Omaha World-Herald that she won’t run in Nebraska’s U.S. Senate race on the Working People Party ballot line.