RNC vs. GOP Voting Law
RNC Files Lawsuit Seeking to Strike Down Nebraska Voting Law Authored by State Republicans
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The Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit on June 22, 2026, to strike down a Nebraska voting law — one that Republicans themselves wrote. The RNC sued Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen in Lancaster County District Court, targeting a 16-year-old state law that lets certain U.S. citizens born abroad vote in Nebraska, even if they have never lived there, according to Beatrice Daily Sun.
The law in question, passed in 2010 by a Republican-controlled legislature, was designed to comply with a federal law protecting military families and overseas Americans. Now, the party that wrote it wants a court to kill it — just months before the 2026 midterm elections, according to Fremont Tribune.
How a GOP-Authored 2010 Law Became a GOP Target
In April 2010, Nebraska passed LB 710 to comply with the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, signed by President Obama in 2009. The bill allowed U.S. citizens born abroad to a Nebraska-registered parent to vote in that parent's county — even if they had never lived in Nebraska. A Republican majority passed it. A Republican governor signed it.
Three members of Nebraska's current congressional delegation were among the Republicans who helped craft or support that law, according to Beatrice Daily Sun. At the time, the provision was seen as a way to make sure the children of service members and expatriates were not shut out of the democratic process entirely.
RNC Argues the Law Breaks Nebraska's Constitution
The RNC's lawsuit claims the 2010 law violates Article VI, Section 1 of the Nebraska Constitution, which says voters must "have resided within the state." The RNC argues that people who have never set foot in Nebraska cannot meet that standard — no matter who their parents are. Two local Republican figures, Lancaster County GOP chair Jack Riggins and County Engineer Pamela Dingman, joined the suit as co-plaintiffs to give it legal standing.
Scott Petersen, the Republican nominee for Nebraska Secretary of State, publicly backed the lawsuit. He said, "Nebraska elections should be decided by Nebraska residents." He was careful to add that the suit is not meant to target active military personnel — only citizens who have never actually lived in the state.
Critics See a Political Play Against Overseas Voters
Legal watchdog group Democracy Docket calls the lawsuit part of a "multi-state campaign against overseas voters" timed to the 2026 midterms. Critics say the RNC is not chasing a constitutional principle — it is trying to shave off a small but potentially decisive group of ballots in tight races. Nebraska is one of 38 states that allow some form of voting for citizens who have never lived in their ancestral state.
If the RNC wins, the ripple effect could be enormous. Similar lawsuits could follow in the other 37 states with comparable laws. U.S. citizens born abroad to American parents — children of aid workers, diplomats, and government contractors — could lose their only avenue to participate in U.S. elections, according to Fremont Tribune.
The Irony Is Hard to Miss for Nebraska Republicans
Political analysts point to a striking paradox: the party suing to strike down the law is the same party that wrote and passed it 16 years ago. The law stood unchallenged for more than a decade and a half. No court has ever successfully overturned it — until now, when the RNC decided it was a problem worth fighting, according to York News-Times.
Defendant Bob Evnen, Nebraska's Republican Secretary of State, is now in the unusual position of defending a Democratic-era federal mandate as enforced through a Republican state law — against a lawsuit brought by his own party. The case is being watched closely as a test of how far the national GOP will go to reshape who gets to vote in close states ahead of a critical election year.
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