Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has described the ongoing investigation into potentially fraudulent signatures on at least eight state petitions as a “sad period in Nebraska history” for the first time. The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office announced this month that six out-of-state circulators have been arrested and a seventh has a warrant issued for them. Petitions for all four statewide ballot measures, three proposed amendments to the Lincoln City Charter, and one nonpartisan bid for governor are under scrutiny.
Lancaster County Leads Investigation
The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and Lancaster County Attorney’s Office are leading the case, a dynamic Hilgers said is typical for the state. He explained that his office usually handles statewide issues or smaller counties but serves a coordinating role in larger counties like Lancaster. When five out-of-state circulators were arrested in August, his office was not present, unlike two years ago when he and Hall County Attorney Marty Klein announced arrests related to medical cannabis petitions.
Hilgers said it would be an “outlier” for his office to attend news conferences in the three most populous counties: Douglas, Lancaster, or Sarpy. He could not recall such instances occurring in the past. The investigation began in mid-July when Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen reported suspected fraudulent signatures on three Lincoln City Charter petitions. Election officials rejected more than 65% of the 30,000 signatures Good Government Lincoln submitted in that initial batch, meaning all three measures fell short of the 4,981 valid signatures needed to qualify.
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While the first set failed, Good Government Lincoln restarted signature gathering the same day Wiltgen made the announcement. Former state Sen. Tony Fulton and other sponsors turned in a second set on Aug. 19. As of Wednesday, election officials have confirmed enough valid signatures for the petitions seeking term limits and election timing changes. About 70% of signatures were validated this time.
Axiom Strategies, a multistate consulting firm, is assisting the petition effort. Hilgers is a client of the firm and acknowledged he is “absolutely” a supporter of the Lincoln petition campaign, though he lives in the 3-mile “extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction” rather than Lincoln proper. He encouraged support of the measures but said he does not see a reason to recuse himself from the investigation.
Political Tension Over Recusal
Jocelyn Brasher, Hilgers’ Democratic opponent this fall, called for a special prosecutor to take over the case. She said Hilgers “went to war” over alleged fraud regarding medical cannabis in 2024 but is not showing the same “aggressive pursuit of the truth” now that the investigation involves his political circle. She argued that if Hilgers believes in the integrity of criminal investigations, he should step aside.
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Hilgers said he would recuse himself only if he believed he could not follow the law. He rejected the idea that the timing of announcements suggested different treatment, noting that “every case has their own set of facts.” Lincoln City Council Chair Brodey Weber and former Gage and Johnson counties prosecutor Randall Ritnour have also called for a special prosecutor. Condon has refused, citing politics and taxpayer costs.
Hilgers described the request as a “political ploy.” He said his team will investigate ballot sponsors “100%, full stop” if evidence implicates them. The Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign, which was the subject of his 2024 lawsuit, criticized Hilgers’ description of their efforts as the “most corrupt… petition I’ve ever seen.” They called his investigation a “taxpayer-funded vendetta” against parents of sick children.