Nebraskans voted in favor of voter ID. What’s next?

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Election Day has come and gone and as a result of the voter ID initiative passing in the state, hitting the polls may look a little different going forward.

Before anything changes, it still has to go through the state legislature where lawmakers will have to iron out the details and figure out what exactly the law will look like.

On Wednesday, 10/11 NOW reached out to dozens of state senators to find out what the next steps for the new law will look like. Many admitted they’re still unsure, but said it will be discussed starting in January when the next legislative session kicks off.

State Senator Tom Brandt, who represents Jefferson, Saline, Thayer and Fillmore counties along with a portion of Lancaster County, said there are many things to consider before the law goes into effect like the types of ID’s that will be accepted and if there will be any impacts to early voting.

“Part of the federal (guideline) that I understand is, if the state mandates a photo photo ID the state must provide a photo ID for those that do not have one,” Brandt said.

In a phone conversation, State Senator Julie Slama, who spearheaded the initiative and will be introducing the legislation, said there’s a lot of unknowns about the new law but she is looking at other states with similar laws to see how it should be implemented in Nebraska. Right now, eight states have strict photo ID laws and four have strict non-photo ID laws.

Slama said the process will resemble any other bill. It will be introduced in the first ten days of the legislative session which kicks off January 4th, 2023.

From there, it will go to the Executive Committee and then likely to the Government and Military Affairs Committee. The public will also have a chance to voice their opinion on the bill before it goes to the floor for debate.

“They’ve told us that they want voter ID and we have to figure it out,” Brandt said.

Slama said the law has to pass and be signed into law during the next legislative session. If not, she noted it would require a special session.

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