Secrecy maintained, on some Nebraska Legislature leadership votes

LINCOLN - A contentious rules change has been defeated in the Nebraska Legislature.  The proposal, brought to the Rules Committee by its chairperson, Senator Steve Erdman of Bayard, would have required roll call votes to elect the Speaker of the Legislature, chairpersons of the 14 standing committees and other leadership positions on the Executive Board.

These votes currently are cast by secret ballot. Erdman said a public vote would ensure that Nebraskans know where their elected representatives stand and who they support for leadership roles.  He said secret ballots encourage vote trading and can erode trust when senators don’t keep their word after indicating who they will support in leadership elections.

Plymouth Sen. Tom Brandt said secret ballots for legislative elections have worked well for nearly 90 years and candidates who lose leadership elections will have hard feelings either way.  If votes are public, he said, those senators would have even more incentive to “keep score” and more ammunition to seek retribution against colleagues who voted against them.

Brandt said, “I’m kind of in the camp of ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad, also speaking in opposition to the proposal, said “party bosses” have tried for decades to end the secret ballot as a way to pressure senators into party-line votes for leadership positions.

The proposal was defeated on a vote of 26-16. Thirty votes were needed.