Nebraska voters to decide on 2026 constitutional amendment to lengthen state legislative term limits—20 years after they took effect

By

Ballotpedia staff

Welcome to the Tuesday, June 3, Brew. 

By: Briana Ryan

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Nebraska voters to decide on 2026 constitutional amendment to lengthen state legislative term limits—20 years after they took effect
  2. Seven candidates are running for four seats on the Maine School Administrative District 40 school board
  3. A roundup of recent election administration legislative activity

Nebraska voters to decide on 2026 constitutional amendment to lengthen state legislative term limits—20 years after they took effect

On Nov. 3, 2026, Nebraska voters will decide on a constitutional amendment to lengthen state legislative term limits—20 years after they took effect.

On May 28, the Nebraska Senate approved LR19CA—the bill to put the amendment on the ballot—39-10. Nebraska is the only state in the U.S. with a unicameral and officially nonpartisan legislature.

In 2000, voters approved Initiative Measure 415—a citizen initiative—56% to 44%. The initiative limits legislators to two consecutive four-year terms. They are eligible to run again after sitting out for four years. It took effect in 2006.

According to the Nebraska Examiner‘s Zach Wendling, six legislators have returned after being term-limited since 2006, when the term limits went into effect.

The 2026 amendment would increase the limit to three consecutive terms (12 years). Currently, legislative term limits in states with them range between six and 12 years. In 2012, voters defeated an identical legislatively referred amendment—Amendment 3—65% to 35%.

Nebraska is one of 16 states with either lifetime or consecutive legislative term limits:

  • Ten states have consecutive term limits. After legislators serve the maximum number of terms in those states, they can not immediately return to the same chamber. However, they can run for a different chamber or wait a period before running for the same chamber again.
  • Six states have lifetime term limits. After legislators serve the maximum number of terms in a particular chamber in those states, they can never again run for or hold office in that chamber.

Additionally, six states had legislative term limits, which a legislature or state supreme court later overturned.

California, Colorado, and Oklahoma were the first states to approve legislative term limits in 1990. The last state to adopt legislative term limits was North Dakota in 2022. That year, voters approved Constitutional Measure 1—a citizen initiative—63% to 37%. That initiative limited legislators to serving eight years in each chamber and the governor to serving two four-year terms. The amendment also stated that only a citizen initiative, not the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, could change the term limits.

In 2026, North Dakota voters will decide on changes to the 2022 initiative. The legislatively referred amendment would authorize legislators to serve four complete four-year terms regardless of the chamber. A term of less than four years would not count toward the term limit. It would also repeal the prohibition against the Legislature changing the term limits. Check out our coverage of this amendment in the April 9 Daily Brew.

So far, the term limits amendment is the only one Nebraska voters will decide in 2026. Between 1985 and 2024, Nebraska voters have decided on 112 measures—approving 69 and defeating 43.

Click here to read more about the Nebraska Change Legislative Term Limit Amendment.

Seven candidates are running for four seats on the Maine School Administrative District 40 school board

As part of our ongoing coverage of local elections across the U.S., we’re spotlighting this year’s nonpartisan general election for four seats on the Maine School Administrative District 40 (RSU 40) school board on June 10. This district includes the towns of Warren, Waldoboro, and Union. Members serve three-year terms on the 16-member board.

According to the Penobscot Bay Pilot’s Sarah Masters, the district created guidelines in 2018 that included “addressing students by their preferred name and pronouns, permitting them to use the locker rooms and restrooms that most closely match their gender identity, and developing a support plan for the student.” 

The district amended it in 2023 to state that an “administrator should first discuss parent/guardian involvement with the student to avoid inadvertently putting the student at risk by contacting their parent(s)/guardian(s). The student will be notified by the administrator prior to contacting their parent(s)/guardian(s).”

In June 2024, the board voted 8-8 to repeal the policy. The repeal passed due to a district rule implementing weighted voting by town size, which gave greater influence to the members who voted to repeal. In August 2024, after an election shifted the balance of power to a liberal majority, the board voted to reinstate the policy.

Bangor Daily News’s Jules Walkup wrote, “supporters of the policy say that it helps marginalized students to feel more welcomed and gives staff more guidance about how to support them, while the board members opposed to the policy have argued that it undermines families and isn’t necessary given state protections for transgender people.” 

At least two of the four races include candidates on either side of the issue:

In 2024, the towns in the district voted for President Donald Trump (R) and, at the same time, voted to re-elect U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with the Democrats.

The district includes seven schools. During the 2023 school year, 1,800 students attended one of the district’s seven schools.

Click here to read more about this nonpartisan general election.

A roundup of recent election administration legislative activity

As legislative sessions continue across the country, we’re following the latest nationwide trends and legislative activity related to election policy.

Let’s start with some key takeaways from last week’s legislative actions:

  • We’re currently following 4,527 bills. We were following 2,557 bills at this time in 2023.
  • Legislators in 24 states acted on 310 bills over the last week. During the same week, legislators acted on 146 bills in 2024, 174 in 2023, and 125 in 2022.
  • Twenty-one bills were enacted last week. Seventeen bills were enacted during the same week in 2024, 25 bills were enacted in 2023, and 12 bills were enacted in 2022.

Now, let’s check out some other noteworthy election-related developments:

  • On May 28, five Maryland voters filed a lawsuit alleging that public funding of the state’s closed primary system violates the state constitution. The plaintiffs allege that unaffiliated voters’ inability to vote in primary elections violates Article 1 of the Maryland Constitution, which says that qualified voters “shall be entitled to vote in the ward or election district in which the citizen resides at all elections to be held in this State.”
  • On May 28, the Texas Senate passed HB5138, a bill giving the state’s attorney general broader authority to prosecute election-related offenses. The bill requires law enforcement agencies to report possible election-related offenses and makes it mandatory (rather than discretionary) for the attorney general to prosecute them.
  • On May 27, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the North Carolina State Board of Elections over the state’s voter registration practices. The DOJ alleges that because the board did not require voters’ driver’s license numbers or Social Security numbers on official voter registration forms, it violated the Help America Vote Act.
  • On May 27, a New Hampshire House of Representatives committee approved SB222, a bill that would move the state primary election from the second Tuesday in September to the second Tuesday in June. The bill passed the state Senate on March 27. The bill now heads to the House floor for a full vote.

One bill was vetoed in the past week, and 51 bills have been vetoed so far this year. One bill was vetoed during this period in 2024, no bills were vetoed in 2023, and three bills were vetoed in 2022. To see all vetoed bills, click here.

A version of this story appeared in our May 30 Ballot Bulletin—our weekly email that follows developments in election policy around the country. Click here to sign up.

You can also click here to see a full list of the bills we’re following in 2025.