# Evnen faces primary challenge from right over election security **Published:** 2026-05-11T10:30:51.000Z **Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/11/can-nebraskas-secretary-of-state-survive-another-challenge-from-the-right/) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/evnen-faces-primary-challenge-from-right-over-election-security LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen is mounting a public defense of the state's election systems ahead of Tuesday's primary, where Republican primary voters will decide whether to give him another term or turn to Omaha businessman Scott Petersen, whose campaign has centered on questions about voting technology and election security. Evnen recently completed a five-day "transparency tour" across the state, observing [logic and accuracy testing of ballot-counting machines](https://www.1011now.com/2026/04/24/inside-nebraskas-election-security-processes-ahead-midterm-elections/) at multiple county election offices. At the Lancaster County Election Commission on April 24, he stressed that every ballot tabulator in Nebraska is tested three times a month before elections and called the state's elections the "gold standard," pointing to new legislation that allows representatives from opposing political parties to observe testing. But Petersen has criticized Evnen for insufficient focus on election security, specifically questioning the technology used in the state's voting systems. [Petersen has echoed concerns from Trump about elections](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/03/02/scott-petersen-challenges-nebraska-secretary-state-bob-evnen-right/) and argues that voting by mail should be restricted to military personnel, people with disabilities and those living far from polling sites. He also has called for full hand counts of entire races, particularly in close contests. Election experts, however, have found hand counting to be [less reliable, costlier and more time-consuming](https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-nevada-83f8f680cfaf96adce39bcbdd8e4610a/) than machine counting. A hand count in a Texas county during the 2024 Republican primary took nearly 24 hours and involved 200 people. Lancaster County election officials have said that ballot-counting machines cannot access the internet and that the office's computer used to upload election results is connected only when uploading data via flash drive. [Nebraska uses paper ballots that are tabulated by optical scanners](https://sos.nebraska.gov/nebraska-election-security), and all equipment is federally certified and not connected to the internet or other networks. This is not the first time Evnen has fended off a GOP primary challenge. In 2022, he survived two challengers who claimed widespread voter fraud cost Trump the 2020 election. The challengers combined for more than half the votes cast in that race — 125,778 votes to Evnen's 98,263. Evnen has secured endorsements from all five members of Nebraska's federal delegation, including U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts and [U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/11/can-nebraskas-secretary-of-state-survive-another-challenge-from-the-right/). Petersen, who has ties to the newer faction of the Nebraska Republican Party, has secured endorsements from 18 county Republican parties. Some grassroots conservatives are split in the race, with Nebraskans Against Government Overreach backing Evnen while the Nebraska Freedom Coalition supports Petersen. Congressman Don Bacon has been vocal in his support of Evnen, calling Petersen the "President of the TinFoil Hat Club" for his election security criticisms in a state where Bacon says elections are run well. Bacon also has highlighted comments from some Petersen supporters about Jews and Israel that the congressman called antisemitic. Petersen told a CBS affiliate the attacks represented "dirty politics" by a "desperate Evnen campaign." Evnen, like other election officials in conservative-led states, has faced pressure from populist Republicans aligned with the Trump administration to implement additional election security measures promoted since Trump's 2020 loss. When asked why some GOP members think he has not done enough, Evnen said, "You would have to ask them." ## Sources - [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/11/can-nebraskas-secretary-of-state-survive-another-challenge-from-the-right/) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/11/can-nebraskas-secretary-of-state-survive-another-challenge-from-the-right/.