(Neb)-Last Day For Candidate Withdrawal, Declared Write-In Filing

By: John Axtell Posted at: 09/01/2020 11:59 AM
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Today is the last day in Nebraska for declared write-in candidates to file for office and for current candidates to withdraw and have their names taken off the ballot.

       Candidates can still withdraw after 5:00 PM today, but their name would stay on the ballot.

      The advantage of being a declared write-in is that election officials can count any spelling of the name while ballots with a non-declared write-in must spell the name correctly to be counted.

     The withdrawal deadline has drawn much more attention than usual this year as the state Democratic party's central committee has been pressuring U-S Senate nominee Chris Janicek to withdraw for more than 2 months over sexually offensive text messages about a campaign employee.

      Janicek held a news conference yesterday at his Omaha cupcake bakery to make it clear he has no plans to drop out of the race in favor of Alisha Shelton, who finished 3rd behind him in the primary. Janicek said very few individuals have called on him to step down.

       The Shelton campaign immediately challenge the claim, saying over 3,000 individuals across Nebraska have called for him to drop out.

       The central committee has vote to withhold all support from Janicek, which the Shelton campaign says makes it impossible to mount a competitive campaign against incumbent Republican Ben Sasse - although the two are meeting in their only scheduled debate this Friday at the state fair.

    Party chair Jane Kleeb says Janicek has continued to demonstrate a pattern of abusive and unprofessional behavior, refusing to issue a serious apology to the staffer in question and blaming her for his abusive behavior

     Kleeb says the state party supports Shelton's campaign, explaining that "Unlike the Republican party, our Democratic Party does not look the other way when a candidate sexually harasses a woman. Our party will make sure that voters across Nebraska have a strong choice in order to defeat Ben Sasse."

     It's not clear how Shelton gets on the ballot since as a losing candidate in the primary she can't run as a write-in and Janicek refuses to withdraw.

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