LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said five people from out of state have been arrested in an investigation into thousands of fraudulent petition signatures.
On Friday morning, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office announced progress in their investigation of fraudulent signatures regarding a trio of petitions aimed to get on November’s ballot.
The petitions themselves aimed to add term limits and change who can vote in Lincoln city elections.
While the Lancaster County Election Commission announced Thursday the rejection of more than 65% of the more than 30,000 signatures from the Good Government Lincoln Project, LSO says they were first tipped off on July 23.
“All of these signatures are probably fraudulent,” said Chief Deputy Ben Houchin.
In partnership with the U.S. Marshals Service, LSO Chief Deputy Houchin said five people had been arrested in Washington D.C., Missouri, Nevada, and Florida.
LSO said more arrest warrants have been obtained, but the current arrested suspects are being extradited back to Nebraska, with their names being unsealed at a later time.
Motive and affiliations
Houchin said the people collecting signatures may have been paid up to $20 per signature. He said the investigation has found no connection between the suspects and any political group.
“Nothing in our investigation makes us believe any political entity is working or affiliated with this,” Houchin said. “These are people out doing crimes. Period.”
Houchin said the investigation is ongoing and credited the Election Commission, the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office, the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, and the U.S. Marshals Service for their roles in the case.
“The U.S. Marshal Service has done us a huge favor. They are the reason why they are under arrest now, because they are out of state,” Houchin said.
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