On March 29, Nebraska LB 34 passed the State Senate unanimously. Nebraska requires all bills to go through several floor votes, so the bill isn’t entirely through the legislative process yet. But the fact that it passed unanimously certainly indicates that it won’t have any trouble on final passage. Current law says a party remains on the ballot if it polls 5% for any statewide race at either of the last two elections. The bill keeps that provision, but says it can also stay on the ballot if it has at least 10,000 registrants.

The only ballot-qualified parties in Nebraska now are the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian Parties. The Libertarian Party has over 11,000 registrants. The effect of the bill will be to keep the Libertarian Party on the ballot even if chooses not to run any nominees for statewide office in the future, as long as its registration stays high. The bill’s author, Senator Laura Ebke, is a registered Libertarian.