Nebraska voters will decide next month whether state senators should be allowed to serve three consecutive four-year terms instead of two, a change that would let lawmakers stay in the Unicameral for up to 12 years rather than eight. Senators currently face reelection every four years and, once they hit the limit, must sit out a full election cycle before running again. The proposed constitutional amendment would keep the four-year election cycle in place but push the sit-out requirement back by one more term.
How the Measure Reached the Ballot
The Legislature approved Legislative Resolution 19CA by a 39-10 vote in May 2025, sending the question to voters, according to the Nebraska Examiner. If approved on Nov. 3, the change would not take effect until 2028, per the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Department of Agricultural Economics, which is tracking the measure among this year's statewide ballot questions. Voters adopted the two-term cap in 2000 by a 55.8% margin, the Examiner reports, but Nebraska had not operated under legislative term limits for more than 25 years as of 2026: the first lawmakers were forced out under that rule after the 2006 and 2008 elections.
This isn't the first attempt to loosen the restriction. A nearly identical proposal reached voters in 2012 after clearing the Legislature by a 31-14 vote, but it was rejected at the ballot box, garnering just 35.4% support, according to 1011 NOW. The same station notes a quirk in how terms are counted: a term only counts toward the limit if it lasts more than two years, which means some senators appointed mid-term can serve up to 10 consecutive years under current rules. Sen. Rob Dover is cited as one lawmaker who would be eligible to run for a third term in 2028 if voters approve the change.
Omaha Senators Weigh In, With Reservations
Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt, who recently completed her second legislative session and is now term-limited from appearing on next month's ballot, says the current eight-year window isn't enough time for lawmakers to build real expertise. She told WOWT that more experience benefits the Legislature overall, though she stopped short of fully endorsing the proposal — she said she doesn't personally favor three terms but views it as an improvement over the status quo.
La Vista Sen. John Arch, the Speaker of the Legislature, agreed that eight years isn't enough. Arch has argued that legislative work takes time. He also told WOWT that a longer term limit could cut down on delays, since lawmakers often lose momentum on projects when replacements have to be brought up to speed. The ballot-issue explanation itself frames the tension this way: it can take years before state senators are sufficiently experienced to serve most effectively, per the UNL ballot tracker.
A Skeptic's Case — and a Bigger Worry
Fellow Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who is also term-limited under the current rule, says she agrees with extending term limits and believes the change could give the Legislature more consistency and institutional power. She told WOWT that the executive branch currently holds more sway than the Legislature does over its own affairs, and that longer tenures could help rebalance that.
But Cavanaugh was careful to separate her support for this measure from what she considers the state's bigger structural problem: the amendment, she said, does nothing to address campaign finance reform. Nebraska's state legislative races currently allow unlimited contributions, including direct checks written straight to candidates, and Cavanaugh pointed out that a single donor could legally hand a state-level candidate a check for a million dollars. She told WOWT she's hopeful the next Legislature will take up campaign finance rules separately.
Where Things Stand Heading Into November
Supporters broadly argue the change would strengthen the Legislature by keeping experienced lawmakers in office longer, as the Hastings Tribune has reported, while opponents counter that lawmakers lose touch with voters the longer they stay in office, and that term limits exist to keep fresh ideas flowing into the body. As of Sept. 17, no campaign committee had registered with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission either for or against the amendment, according to the Examiner. Nebraska is one of 16 states with legislative term limits on the books, according to termlimits.com, putting this fall's vote in a small club of states still actively litigating, at the ballot, how long is too long for a state lawmaker to stay in office.
