Osborn for Senate Campaign Halts Petition Drive After State Says Requirements Were Not Followed

The Osborn for Senate campaign has ordered all volunteers to immediately stop collecting petition signatures. The news came in an email sent on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 6, from a Regional Field Director for the campaign.

“The SOS (Secretary of State) has issued new guidance around the petition collecting process that has, brace yourselves, resulted in us needing to start from scratch,” the email read.

Volunteers were told that all completed petition sheets must be notarized and delivered to the campaign’s Lincoln or Omaha offices by December 12, and that all unused sheets must be shredded because they “do not contain the newly issued language”. Previously-gathered signatures will still be submitted “in the hope that they will be honored”.

The Field Director described the situation as a “minor setback” and assured supporters that the campaign remains confident it will ultimately surpass the signature threshold for candidate Dan Osborn. According to the email, new petition forms and updated training materials will be issued in January 2026.

Secretary of State: No Change in Requirements or Guidance

Secretary of State Bob Evnen, however, disputes the campaign’s characterization, stating flatly that no guidance has changed and that the problem lies entirely with the Osborn campaign.

“There has been no change in requirements and no change in guidance,” Evnen stated in his email response. He said that his office proactively contacted the Osborn campaign on October 28 after media reports of Osborn’s potential independent candidacy, and they informed the campaign that specific statutory requirements must be met before signature collection begins. The campaign representative indicated they would reach out when they were ready.

On November 19, a campaign representative called the SOS office with questions, and the next day, the SOS sent a “specific and detailed email” outlining the requirements. During that call, a campaign representative asked whether signatures collected before meeting the requirements would be valid, and they were told no, they would not.

According to Nebraska law, a sample copy of a petition for an independent candidate must be filed with the Secretary of State’s office prior to circulation, and according to Evnen, it appears this step was not taken by the Osborn campaign.

Where the Campaign Goes From Here

Nebraska law requires Independent candidates for statewide office, such as U.S. Senate, to collect 4,000 valid signatures statewide, including at least 750 from each congressional district, to appear on the general election ballot.

Based on the campaign’s email, Osborn’s team is preparing to re-launch its petition effort in January 2026, using newly-printed petition sheets. While the campaign will still submit the signatures already gathered, it is preparing for the possibility that none of them will count. And according to Evnen, it sounds like the campaign will have to start from zero.

This story was amended Monday, Dec. 8, 2025 with new information from Secretary of State Bob Evnen.