A state lawmaker is demanding “corrective action” after the Nebraska Democratic Party admittedly planted voter registration forms in gift baskets intended for newly-arrived refugees.
Nebraska State Senator John Murante (R-Gretna) publicly asked in a letter Monday that Democrat Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb disclose the names of any refugees who received voter registration forms tucked into welcoming baskets. The Chairman of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee urged that Kleeb acts quickly to inform local election officials in affected counties since primary elections are scheduled in Lincoln and Omaha on April 4.
Murante notes in his letter that failure to assist local officials could risk illegal voter registrations, “diluting the voting power of legal voters”. Worse, he notes, some refugees could mistake the offer of voter registration to mean they are indeed eligible to vote, potentially complicating a pathway to naturalization, should they choose to do so. Murante was silent, however, on whether he believes the Democrats did anything illegal.
The episode initiated after a mid-March Facebook video shot by Kleeb at her latest state party gathering featured the welcome baskets. The chairwoman drew the camera’s attention to envelopes with the party logo:
The episode initiated after a mid-March Facebook video shot by Kleeb at her latest state party gathering featured the welcome baskets. The chairwoman drew the camera’s attention to envelopes with the party logo:
Inside each basket, there’s also a letter from the Nebraska Democratic Party welcoming the family to Nebraska. It’s signed by me as chair of the party—and then we include a sticker in there for them to put on their car, and also include the voter registration form and just has our contact information in case they want to reach out and have any questions.