In the first week of May, Governor Pete Ricketts allowed a bill to go into effect that would allow a party to maintain ballot access if they have 10,000 or more registered members or if a candidate polls at 5% in any of the last two statewide elections.

According to Nebraska’s 2016 VR Statistics Count Report, there’s over 11,000 registered Libertarians, so maintaining mid-term ballot access should not be a hurdle the party has to overcome. Gary Johnson also polled at 7% in an Emerson College Poll and 15% in a Washington Post Poll in Nebraska, so ballot access could also be maintained in 2020.

This brings hope to Libertarians looking to once again achieve ballot access in every state and hoping to build upon the success of Gary Johnson’s presidential campaign. Automatic ballot access will also give libertarians running for local and state offices more time to focus on creating quality campaigns.