The north end of the County City Building. (Jeff Motz/KFOR News)LINCOLN–(KFOR/News Release Aug. 27)–Shortly after 6pm Thursday, Lincoln City Attorney  Yohance Christie announced in a news release to KFOR News that the deadline passed for any of the proposed Lincoln City Charter amendments to g o before voters on November 3. This now sets up an imminent court battle over the fate of three proposed city charter amendments from the petitioning group Good Government Lincoln. Christie said two of the three petitions from Good Government Lincoln have qualified for the ballot. However, because the Lincoln City Council must provide proper public notice, host a public hearing and then vote on including the measures on the ballot, Christie said, it’s too late for them to get on the Nov. 3 ballot. “Good Government Lincoln has re-submitted charter amendment petition signatures after the August 7th announcement of signature fraud,” Christie said.  “The Election Commissioner has verified that two of the petitions have met the required number of valid signatures. At the time of this statement, the third petition has not yet been verified. Lincoln City Council members must pass a resolution authorizing the ballot issue and provide it to the Lancaster County Election Commissioner by Sept. 1, for the issue to be included on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. There are some local and state laws that have to be met and specific considerations to be made before any charter amendment proposal certification can be completed. The Election Commissioner must verify the petition signatures The Nebraska State Constitution and the Lincoln City Charter state that the City Council may consider alternative Charter amendments Council resolutions for the proposed amendments and possible alternatives, specifically authorized in the Constitution and the Charter, must be drafted and then reviewed by the City Law Department The Charter Revision Commission is a bi-partisan body that will independently review both the petition language and petition alternatives drafted by City Law and make recommendations to the City Council The Council’s process includes providing proper public notice pursuant to state law, two City Council meetings, a public hearing and a Council vote The petitioners have missed the deadline for the City Council’s process to allow inclusion on the November 3rd ballot “The City Council is under no obligation to bypass their processes for placing petitions on the ballot because of a missed deadline,” Christie said.   “The City Council will place the Charter amendments on the next general election ballot (May 2027) pursuant to state law.” The three petitions seek to limit Lincoln City Council members to two consecutive four-year terms, move the dates of city elections from odd to even years and let certain residents within a 3-mile buffer around Lincoln city limits vote in municipal elections, excluding bond votes. The Lancaster County Election Commission is still verifying signatures for the petition to expand Lincoln municipal election boundaries, but the other two measures have enough valid signatures. In a two-page letter Tuesday, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers cited a Lincoln Journal Star report that city officials had not yet decided what to do. “If the City Council and City Clerk do not agree to obey their constitutional duty, we will be forced to consider immediate legal action to ensure that Nebraskans residing in Lincoln can exercise their constitutional right to vote on proposed amendments to the Lincoln City Charter this November,” Hilgers wrote.     ...read more read less