32-602.

Candidate; general requirements; limitation on filing for office.

(1) Any person seeking an elective office shall be a registered voter at the time of filing for the office pursuant to section 32-606 or 32-611.

(2) Any person filing for office shall meet the constitutional and statutory requirements of the office for which he or she is filing. If a person is filing for a partisan office, he or she shall be a registered voter affiliated with the appropriate political party if required pursuant to section 32-702. If the person is required to sign a contract or comply with a bonding or equivalent commercial insurance policy requirement prior to holding such office, he or she shall be at least nineteen years of age at the time of filing for the office.

(3) A person shall not be eligible to file for an office if he or she holds the office and his or her term of office expires after the beginning of the term of office for which he or she would be filing. This subsection does not apply to filing for an office to represent a different district, ward, subdistrict, or subdivision of the same governmental entity as the office held at the time of filing.

(4)(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b) of this subsection, a person shall not be eligible to file for an office until he or she has paid any outstanding civil penalties and interest imposed pursuant to the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act. The filing officer shall determine such eligibility before accepting a filing. The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission shall provide the filing officers with current information or the most current list of such outstanding civil penalties and interest owed pursuant to subdivision (13) of section 49-14,123.

(b) A person owing a civil penalty to the commission shall be eligible to file for an office if:

(i) The matter in which the civil penalty was assessed is pending on appeal before a state court; and

(ii) The person files with the commission a surety bond running in favor of the State of Nebraska with surety by a corporate bonding company authorized to do business in this state and conditioned upon the payment of the civil penalty imposed under the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act.

(5) The governing body of the political subdivision swearing in the officer shall determine whether the person meets all requirements prior to swearing in the officer.