Handbook·Elections

Running for office in Nebraska

State page·Verified 2026-07-10

This page covers what's specific to Nebraska on top of the general guide to filing for local office.

Filing in Nebraska

Nebraska's Legislature is the only unicameral, officially nonpartisan legislature in the country. Candidates file without a party label attached to their candidacy, and every candidate for a seat appears on the same primary ballot regardless of party. The top two vote-getters, again regardless of party, advance to the general election. You file with the Secretary of State's Elections Division, not a county office, since Legislature seats are filed statewide. The standard path is a candidate filing form plus a filing fee set by statute at 1 percent of the office's annual salary. A candidate who can't afford the fee can file a sworn "in forma pauperis" affidavit to waive it entirely, rather than gathering signatures instead.

Deadlines and numbers

  • 2026 filing opened January 5, 2026. Incumbents had to file by February 17, 2026, 5:00pm. Non-incumbents by March 2, 2026, 5:00pm
  • 2026 primary: May 12, 2026. General election: November 3, 2026
  • Filing fee: 1 percent of annual salary. For 2026, the Legislature salary is $12,000/year, so the fee is $120
  • Eligibility: registered voter of the district, resident of the district for at least 1 year before the election, at least 21 years old when elected
  • Separate petitioning route (mainly for ballot vacancies): filing fee still applies, plus signatures equal to at least 10 percent of registered voters in the district who voted for president in 2024, capped at 2,000

The dossier didn't confirm the precise future filing window for the 2028 Legislature elections. Nebraska's calendar pattern (January open, mid-February incumbent deadline, early March non-incumbent deadline) tends to recur each even year, but exact dates depend on the official election calendar the Secretary of State publishes each fall. Check /engage closer to that cycle.

Where to go