The Public Pulse: Should Nebraska redistrict the state legislature?

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The case for redistricting the Nebraska Legislature

There are news reports about some states thinking of early redistricting to give one party or the other an edge in the 2026 midterm elections.

That would not be appropriate for Nebraska, where Nebraska’s congressional redistricting was one of only four states to receive an A in both partisan fairness and competitiveness from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.

But while populations and voter registrations among Nebraska’s congressional districts are fairly close, that is far from the case among the unicameral districts.

The smallest districts (7, 35 and 46) have nearly half the number of eligible voters as the largest (2, 25 and 39).

Consequently, while voters in Districts 7 and 46 have two seats in the Legislature, slightly more voters in District 39 have only one.

This is probably not what people envision when they hear “one person, one vote.”

To address this, the Legislature should put a change to the Nebraska Constitution before voters that would change the population equality criterion for unicameral districts from total voting-age population to eligible voting-age population.

If placed on the 2026 ballot and approved by the voters, this issue could be addressed in the 2031 state redistricting.

Kris Thompson, Lincoln

Nebraska students fighting for the environment

Students for Sustainability (SFS), a youth environmental organization based in Nebraska, has recently returned from an inspiring summer conference with Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

With the help of a generous grant from the Sierra Club, we were able to send three SFS members to Washington, D.C., this year: executive director Evalina Sain, secretary Victoria Bogatz and treasurer Scout Walker. These three members worked with a larger Nebraska team during meetings with staff from the offices of Congressman Don Bacon, Congressman Mike Flood, Sen. Pete Ricketts, and Sen. Deb Fischer. We focused on three primary asks:

• Maintain funding for crucial clean energy research programs, such as the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. These programs have supported agricultural research at the University of Nebraska, the construction of sustainable aviation fuel facilities in our state, and more.

• Reject further cuts to clean energy tax credits. These tax credits, which support energy innovation throughout the state, have generated $104 million annually for landowners and farmers in Nebraska and support 1,400 jobs. While they were reduced through the budget reconciliation bill, we asked our representatives to oppose any further cuts.

• Work to reform the energy permitting process. Authorizing new energy projects often takes up to four and a half years, which prevents clean energy projects from thriving and makes it difficult to keep up with growing energy demand. We discussed cutting red tape to let clean energy expand and Nebraska’s economy grow.

We also introduced a secondary ask to implement a Foreign Pollution Tariff. While the United States is one of the most carbon-efficient manufacturing countries in the world, we frequently import goods from more polluting nations. A foreign pollution tariff would allow U.S. industries to leverage their carbon advantage and outcompete overseas polluters.

At both SFS and CCL, we appreciated our representatives’ willingness to address these topics. We were able to find common ground on supporting Nebraska farmers, increasing energy independence, and encouraging American innovation. We are excited to continue to work with our Members of Congress on practical, bipartisan climate solutions.

Students for Sustainability like to thank the Nebraska Sierra Club, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and our Nebraska representatives for giving us the chance to discuss climate action at the highest levels of government. We can’t wait to continue the work towards a sustainable, secure future!

Victoria Bogatz, Bellevue