‘Sad period in Nebraska history’: AG Hilgers speaks on ongoing petition fraud investigations

LINCOLN — As law enforcement continues to investigate thousands of possibly fraudulent signatures on at least eight different Nebraska petitions this year, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers is speaking out on the historic situation for the first time.

The ongoing criminal investigation has already led to the arrest of six out-of-state circulators, and prosecutors have filed an arrest warrant for a seventh, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said this month. Petitions for all four statewide ballot measures, three proposed amendments to the Lincoln City Charter and one nonpartisan bid for Nebraska governor are under investigation.

“It is a sad period in Nebraska history that we’ve had this much fraud in our petition process,” Hilgers told reporters at an unrelated news conference Wednesday.

Two congressional candidate petitions — one statewide and one in the 3rd Congressional District — plus two statewide petitions to establish new political parties have not been implicated. Another Lincoln petition, related to police staffing, has also not been implicated.

Said Hilgers: “We will apply the same standard and the same rules, and we’ll have the same energy and the same fervor to enforce the laws in the State of Nebraska, no matter who.”

Lancaster County takes the lead

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and Lancaster County Attorney’s Office have taken the lead in the fraud case, which Hilgers said isn’t unusual.

If fraud is suspected in Nebraska, Hilgers said, the state Attorney General’s Office is often involved “in some form or fashion.” Usually, the office leads for statewide issues or in smaller counties, but it takes a coordinating, assisting role with larger counties, such as Lancaster.

When law enforcement announced the arrest of five out-of-state circulators on Aug. 7, Hilgers’ office was not present. That’s in contrast to two years ago when Hilgers and Hall County Attorney Marty Klein announced one arrest related to two medical cannabis petitions. A month later, Klein and Hilgers announced the arrest of a notary for the medical cannabis petitions.

Hilgers said it would be an “outlier,” by contrast, for his office to be at such news conferences in the three most populous counties: Douglas, Lancaster or Sarpy. 

He said he couldn’t recall any such instances — civil, criminal or otherwise.

“The big three drive the bus for themselves,” Hilgers said. “We help where they want us to help.”

‘Operational control’

It was in mid-July that Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen first reported signatures suspected to be fraudulent on three Lincoln City Charter petitions to authorities.

In total, election officials rejected more than 65% of the 30,000 signatures that Good Government Lincoln submitted in an initial batch of signatures seeking to qualify three measures.

Those three petitions seek to limit future Lincoln City Council members to two consecutive four-year terms, move the dates of city elections from odd years to even years and let certain residents within a 3-mile buffer around Lincoln city limits vote in municipal elections, excluding bond votes.

Each of the three had fallen short of the 4,981 valid signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

At the outset of the investigation, Hilgers said, he gave “operational control” to his chief deputy and criminal prosecution chief “in an abundance of caution.” The top prosecutors still retain control. 

Axiom Strategies, a multistate consulting firm, is assisting the petition effort. Hilgers is among the most powerful Nebraska Republicans among the firm’s clients, including this year.

Hilgers acknowledged he is “absolutely” a supporter of the Lincoln petition campaign. He is not a Lincoln voter — he lives in the 3-mile “extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction” that would be able to vote in Lincoln municipal elections if passed — but he has encouraged support of the measures.

Democratic challenger fires back

Jocelyn Brasher of Omaha, Hilgers’ Democratic opponent this fall, previously worked as an assistant attorney general for five years. She had some overlap with Hilgers, who took over in 2023.

Brasher said Hilgers “went to war” over alleged fraud regarding medical cannabis in 2024. But once allegations reached Hilgers’ “political circle,” she said, “Nebraskans aren’t seeing that same aggressive pursuit of the truth or a full, independent investigation.”

“If Mike Hilgers truly believes, as he said today, that ‘you do not mess’ with the integrity of criminal investigations, then he should step aside and allow a truly independent investigation,” Brasher said in a Wednesday statement.

She said Nebraskans should never have to wonder whether “political connections” influence enforcement. However, Hilgers said he does not see a reason to recuse himself, but if it did rise to that level, he said he would let the public know.

“If there is a time at which I do not think that I can follow the law and discharge my duties, of course, the only thing for me to do is to recuse myself,” Hilgers said.

Brasher said if she faced similar political overlap, she would recuse herself “so Nebraskans can trust that the law is always being enforced fairly and impartially.”

Though not criticizing Brasher by name, Hilgers said former employees of his office, who “should know better,” tried to suggest that the timing of news conferences or announcements suggested different treatment.

“Every case has their own life. Every case has their own set of facts. Every case is a little bit different,” Hilgers said.

Lincoln City Council Chair Brodey Weber and Randall Ritnour, a Democrat challenging Republican Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon this November, have called for a special prosecutor to take over the case. Ritnour is a former county attorney in Gage and Johnson counties. Weber, a Democrat, ran against Hilgers for Legislature in 2020.

Condon has refused to pursue a special prosecutor, citing politics and the cost to taxpayers. 

Hilgers described the special prosecutor request as a “political ploy” with “no basis” in how criminal offices run in this circumstance.

Lincoln faces looming deadline

Good Government Lincoln restarted signature gathering the same day Wiltgen said they didn’t have enough signatures. Former state Sen. Tony Fulton and other sponsors turned in a second set of signatures Aug. 19. Fulton served as tax commissioner under former Gov. Pete Ricketts.

As of Wednesday, election officials have confirmed enough valid signatures for the petitions seeking to enact city council term limits and move the timing of the election. Signature verification is ongoing, and all three measures appear likely to have enough signatures.

Compared to the first set, about 70% of signatures have been validated this time.

However, signature-gathering is the first step, and Lincoln officials must take action to certify items for the ballot. The last day to do so, under state law, is Tuesday.

Hilgers said there’s a “disturbing trend” of Lincoln officials acting “contrary” to the Nebraska Constitution. He noted efforts to enforce a local minimum wage, an ordinance that is, for now, blocked in court. But Hilgers said there are “some other instances, maybe we’ll announce in the coming weeks, where they also have violated the Constitution.” He did not give further details.

Of whether Lincoln officials must put qualifying city charter amendments on the Nov. 3 ballot, Hilgers said it’s a “non-negotiable, non-discretionary requirement.”

Hilgers confirmed he has sent a letter to city officials asking them to confirm by 5 p.m. Thursday whether they’ll forward qualifying amendments to voters.

If officials refuse or indicate they won’t comply, Hilgers gave a warning: “We will be prepared.”

Hilgers acknowledged the Nebraska Constitution may give a later certification deadline, in early October, but he hopes that isn’t needed.

Weber told the Nebraska Examiner that the role of a city councilor is to work with the City Attorney’s Office and ensure “we follow the right steps and we have an appropriate procedure.” 

“Just because they [Good Government Lincoln] did not handle this situation with the level of care that it required doesn’t mean that the city has to act in a similar fashion,” Weber said Tuesday. “We are going to do the right thing, and we’re going to follow the process to make sure that we’re upholding the law.”

Campaign sponsors have said they were unaware of any alleged criminal activity and that they support investigation and prosecution of all actors, at every level, who may have been involved.

‘Cheating doesn’t win’

Hilgers said a message that “cheating doesn’t win” needs to resonate at the top of petition campaigns. He hearkened back to the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign from 2024 — its third attempt to reach voters, which voters overwhelmingly supported — and how his office’s investigation went all the way up to the sponsors behind the issue.

One sponsor was among campaign supporters who pleaded their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in 2024. That was, in part, because of possible criminal charges in addition to a civil lawsuit from Hilgers and Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen to disqualify the effort.

“We treated them the way we treated them based on where the facts went,” Hilgers said.

One Grand Island circulator pleaded guilty to attempting to falsify his circulator’s oath. He had used a phone book to forge signatures. A jury convicted a York notary for improper notarizations on that circulator’s petitions. That notary is now appealing his convictions.

No other prosecutions came as a result of the medical cannabis investigation, but Hilgers and Evnen implicated multiple circulators and notaries in the civil lawsuit.

The Hilgers-Evnen lawsuit is now in front of the Nebraska Supreme Court. A lower court judge ruled against assertions of widespread fraud. If the justices reverse, it could lead to invalidation of the 2024 voter-approved laws for legalization and regulation of medical cannabis.

If there is evidence implicating any ballot sponsors this year, Hilgers said, his team will go in that direction “100%, full stop.”

‘Nowhere to be found’

In a Wednesday statement, the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign said Hilgers reminded Nebraskans “exactly who he is: an attorney general who is ruthless when attacking ordinance people, but when scrutiny reaches his own political allies, he’s nowhere to be found.”

The unsigned campaign statement said Hilgers waged a “taxpayer-funded vendetta” that dragged patients and families “through the mud.” They also criticized Hilgers’ claim Wednesday that the campaign was “top to bottom the most corrupt, the worst run, poorly executed, most disrespectful to voters in the State of Nebraska petition I’ve ever seen.”

Campaign supporters have continued to stand by their campaign and pointed to the Lancaster County District Court judge’s rejection of claims alleging widespread fraud or malfeasance.

“When patients and volunteers were involved, Hilgers was happy to use every tool at his disposal. Mistakes became scandals. Allegations became press conferences. Petition integrity became one of his favorite talking points,” the campaign said.

“These were not political operatives sitting in a boardroom. These were parents of sick children.”

The general election is Nov. 3.