State Sen. Brad von Gillern of Legislative District 4 conceded to Cindy Maxwell-Ostdiek on Friday afternoon after a release of early votes from the Douglas County Election Commission slightly widened Maxwell-Ostdiek’s narrow lead.
Von Gillern previously beat Maxwell-Ostdiek in a tight race to represent the district, which encompasses Elkhorn and parts of west Omaha, in 2022. She lost by 802 votes. Though the Legislature is officially nonpartisan, registered independent Maxwell-Ostdiek ran as a progressive alternative to von Gillern, who is a Republican.
The Friday afternoon release widened Maxwell-Ostdiek’s lead over Von Gillern from 292 to 370 votes. In a statement, Von Gillern said it was an honor to serve and wished Maxwell-Ostdiek success.
“Nebraska now has the lowest overall tax burden it has had in many years, our public schools are well-funded, and businesses are looking to our state as an attractive option to grow and thrive,” Von Gillern said. “Unfortunately, the voters wanted a change in this seat.”
There will be at least two more releases from the commission. On Nov. 11, results will be released from 553 early ballots that need “further research,” like replacement ballots or ballots with questionable signatures. Another batch of thousands of provisional ballots will be counted and released on Nov. 16.
The Lancaster County Election Commission also released new numbers on total votes Friday afternoon.
The release included about 6,000 early vote ballots that the commission received on Monday and Tuesday.
Those new ballots didn’t lead to any new changes based on previous results. They did solidify the results of five charter amendments that aimed to alter Lincoln elections.
Voters approved “Ballot Question 3” over “Ballot Question 2,” which means that Lincoln will align its local elections with statewide elections starting in 2030.
And “Ballot Question 4” had the most votes in approval out of five amendments. That amendment will enact two four-year consecutive term limits for Lincoln City Council members.
“Ballot Question 6,” which aimed to allow residents living within the three-mile area surrounding Lincoln to vote in city elections, failed with 52,770 voters against the measure.
There will be about 3,000 more provisional ballots that will be released by Nov. 13.