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| Gathering pro-DP signatures in Nebraska, USA |
Come November 2016, Nebraskans may be able to vote for the death penalty if the group Nebraskans for the Death Penalty gather enough signatures before the Thursday deadline. The petition is in hopes to get the issue back in the hands of the voters. Thus, the group's circulators has been soliciting signatures that will support the death penalty for about 80 days now.
The Nebraskans for the Death Penalty say this week they are working hard. They believe the vast majority of Nebraskans want the death penalty back.
Spokesman for Nebraskans for the Death Penalty, Chris Peterson says, "We've collected signatures from every corner of Nebraska and I think that speaks volumes as to the level of support to every corner of the state as we look towards the future weather or not we will keep the death penalty in our state."
However, everyone is not stopping to sign the petition. One Lincoln resident who did not sign the petition, Phil Lewiston, says, "For me it doesn't make financial sense.. it doesn't make moral sense so I choose not to sign."
Spokeswoman for Nebraskans for Public Safety, Danielle Conrad says, "No matter what happens with this referendum campaign we are really in a no lose situation. Either we will be successful and keeping this issue off the ballot so we can move on to better and other priorities for our state. Or we will have a huge jump start on a general election campaign where we know we will be competitive where we are confident our position will carry the day."
The group says they need 57 thousand registered voters' signatures to put the issue on the ballot in 2016. As of now, the signatures are being tallied in a secret location. The group will not share how many people have signed the petition.
Peterson also says, "Really the last day to sign is Tuesday. Wednesday morning we might collect a few signatures but our focus is really turning towards organizing those petitions to turn them in."
Once it's all done, it will take about 40 days for County Clerks to verify the validity of the signatures. The official numbers will come out in October from the Secretary of State's Office.
