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LINCOLN — After floating the idea of keeping Democrat Cindy Burbank on Nebraska’s ballot for U.S. Senate after she asked to be removed, Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced Tuesday he will allow her to be deleted because the state law doesn’t give him the authority to refuse.
Burbank filed her paperwork with Evnen’s office Friday to officially drop out of the race between nonpartisan candidate Dan Osborn and incumbent Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts. But a spokesperson for Evnen said their office would have to ask the state Attorney General Mike Hilgers.
“We have consulted with the Attorney General’s office,” Evnen said Tuesday in a statement. “Under Nebraska law, when a candidate has declined a nomination by the deadline, the Secretary of State has no discretion to refuse it. For that reason, Cindy Burbank’s name will not appear on the November ballot as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.”
Evnen briefly removed Burbank in March, saying she wasn’t a “good-faith” candidate, but she was able to successfully sue her way back on the ballot, partly because Evnen missed a deadline for raising his objection.
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Evnen said Tuesday he had also advised the state Democratic Party of the requirements for replacing a candidate.
But replacing Burbank seems unlikely, as the Nebraska Democrats did not actively recruit a candidate and state party chair Jane Kleeb endorsed Osborn. Burbank’s short candidacy has come under scrutiny as she has faced allegations of being “planted” in the race to boost chances for Osborn, which Burbank has denied.
Evnen, in the same statement, said he viewed Burbank’s action as a “cynical manipulation of the ballot process.”
“Now Burbank has done exactly what I predicted in May. She has declined the nomination,” Evnen said.
She filed her paperwork to drop out one day after Osborn’s signatures to be on the fall ballot were verified by the Secretary of State. Now with Burbank off the ballot, Osborn and Ricketts are the main two candidates in the Senate race.
Marijuana NOW Party’s U.S. Senate nominee Mike Marvin is still currently on the ballot. And there could be two new state political parties that could get someone on the ballot for Senate, depending if their signatures get verified.
The general election is Nov 3.
