LINCOLN- Election Commissioners in Lancaster, Douglas and Sarpy counties went to court Wednesday for arguments in a legal squabble over whether they and their chief deputies should be elected rather than appointed. They currently are appointed by the governor in the three largest counties, and county boards appoint them in four others.
But Gov. Pete Ricketts has said he wouldn't make the appointments in the future based on his reliance on a written opinion by the Nebraska Attorney General's Office last year, which called them "constitutionally suspect."
The opinion had come in response to two questions posed by Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln. One, whether election commissioners are county officers under the Nebraska Constitution. Two, if they are, whether the appointment of election commissioners and their deputies violates the state constitution.
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