(A) (1) Any registered voter who was not a candidate in the primary election and who was not registered to vote with a party affiliation on or after March 1 and before the general election in the calendar year of the general election may have his or her name placed on the general election ballot for a partisan office by filing petitions as prescribed in this section and Neb. RS 32-621 or by nomination by political party convention or committee pursuant to Neb. RS 32-627 or 32-710.
(2) Any candidate who was defeated in the primary election and any registered voter who was not a candidate in the primary election may have his or her name placed on the general election ballot if a vacancy exists on the ballot under Neb. RS 32-625(2) and the candidate files for the office by petition as prescribed in divisions (B) and (C) below, files as a write-in candidate as prescribed in Neb. RS 32-615, or is nominated by political party convention or committee pursuant to Neb. RS 32-710.
(Neb. RS 32-616)
(B) Petitions for nomination shall conform to the requirements of Neb. RS 32-628. Petitions shall state the office to be filled and the name and address of the candidate. Petitions for partisan office shall also indicate the party affiliation of the candidate. A sample copy of the petition shall be filed with the filing officer prior to circulation. Petitions shall be signed by registered voters residing in the city, if candidates are chosen at large, or in the ward in which the officer is to be elected, if candidates are chosen by ward, and shall be filed with the filing officer in the same manner as provided for candidate filing forms. Petition signers and petition circulators shall conform to the requirements of Neb. RS 32-629 and 32-630. No petition for nomination shall be filed unless there is attached thereto a receipt showing the payment of the filing fee required pursuant to Neb. RS 32-608. The petitions shall be filed by September 1 in the year of the general election.
(Neb. RS 32-617)
(C) (1) The number of signatures of registered voters needed to place the name of a candidate upon the nonpartisan ballot for the general election shall be at least 10% of the total number of registered voters voting for Governor or President of the United States at the immediately preceding general election in the city or in the ward in which the officer is to be elected, not to exceed 2,000.
(2) The number of signatures of registered voters needed to place the name of a candidate for an office upon the partisan ballot for the general election shall be as follows:
(a) For each partisan office to be filled by the registered voters of the entire state, at least 4,000, and at least 750 signatures shall be obtained in each congressional district in the state;
(b) For each partisan office to be filled by the registered voters of a county, at least 20% of the total number of registered voters voting for Governor or President of the United States at the immediately preceding general election within the county, not to exceed 2,000, except that the number of signatures shall not be required to exceed 25% of the total number of registered voters voting for the office at the immediately preceding general election; and
(c) For each partisan office to be filled by the registered voters of a political subdivision other than a county, at least 20% of the total number of registered voters voting for Governor or President of the United States at the immediately preceding general election within the political subdivision, not to exceed 2,000.
(Neb. RS 32-618)