EPIC Option campaign pauses 2026 petition drive
Organizers pause signature collection and plan new initiative in 2028
EPIC Option 3.0 displayed on a building. Image from the EPIC Option website.
LINCOLN, Neb. — Organizers behind the EPIC Option ballot initiative say they are pausing volunteer signature collection for the 2026 election after determining they will not reach the number of signatures needed.
In a press release, the group said projections show the campaign will not reach its goal of 160,000 notarized signatures by the July 1 deadline, prompting organizers to pause volunteer signature collection.
Supporters say the initiative is not ending, but instead resetting for another attempt in 2028 under what they are calling “EPIC Option 3.0.”
The proposal would eliminate property taxes, income taxes and inheritance taxes in Nebraska and replace them with a consumption-based tax system.
Organizers say the next campaign will rely on paid petition circulators instead of volunteers. According to the group, no statewide ballot initiative has successfully gathered enough signatures using only volunteers since 1966.
The group says it plans to raise about $1.86 million to pay circulators to collect the roughly 160,000 signatures needed to place the proposal on the ballot.
EPIC Option President Steve Jessen said supporters remain committed to the initiative.
“Together, Nebraskans can make EPIC Option 3.0 a reality,” Jessen said in the release.