LINCOLN- Lawmakers rejected a last-minute amendment Thursday to keep Lincoln city elections in off years, rather than allowing city officials to tie them to statewide elections. The amendment, from State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln, came after concerns from some Lincoln city officials that the amended Legislative Bill 521 could cause problems for the capital city. The original bill from State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha would have allowed just Omaha to move its elections, but when the proposal was amended and attached to LB 521, it added Lincoln.

The amendment to remove Lincoln from the bill failed 16-30. A reconsideration motion failed 18-26. The broader bill advanced by voice vote to the third and final round of debate. Century-old state laws dictate the election timing for cities the size of Omaha (metropolitan class, 400,000 or more residents) and Lincoln (primary class, 100,001 to 399,999 residents). Omaha and Lincoln city officials can already advance changes to their city charter to move election timing, but without a law such as LB 521, the changes could not be carried out.

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