dailu nebraskan
Wednesday, november 8, 1978 lincoln, nebraska vol. 102 no. 42
Bereuter's victory margin is larger than anticipated
By L. Kent Wolgamott
State Sen. Douglas Bereuter of Utica
Tuesday was elected to the 1st District
House of Representatives seat by a com
fortable margin over Hess Dyas in what was
expected to be a close election.
The Bereuter victory was called at
11:50 by United Press International. He
led Dyas with 55.7 percent of the vote at
11:30.
Interviewed at his victory party at the
National Bank of Commerce, Bereuter saie
he credited his victory to a "tremendous
volunteer effort" by county organizations,
part-time paid staff and people involved in
their first political campaigns, especially
young people.
Bereuter also said "our message must
have gotten through. The message of exper
ience, demonstrated ability that I know
how to work in Washington, but yet a new
face."
He credited door-to-door campaigning
by his wife, Louise, in 50 communities in
counties bordering Seward County where
he lives, during the final three weeks of the
campaign as being a great aid in his
campaign.
He also said a newspaper insert in the
major daily newspapers in the district, a
stragegy used in the primary in Norfolk,
surprised Dyas and was an important factor
in his election.
He said he "was a little nervous" await
ing the election results on Tuesday, but he
said he "was more confident than the day
before the primary."
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Photo by Ted Kirk
Former Utica Sen. Douglas Bereuter talks to reporters after being elected to represent Nebraska's 1st district in the House of
Representatives Tuesday night. Bereuter defeated Hess Dyas of Lincoln.
ASUN voter mix-up disturbs students
By Brenda Moskovits
ASUN officials have received 25 to 30
complaints from students who could not
vote Tuesday because ASUN's voter regis
tration drive procedures were illegal,
according to ASUN President Ken
Marienau.
Marienau said 150 to 200 students were
ineligible, mostly student's who tried to
register in Lancaster County as absentees.
About 30 were trying to register in their
home counties.
Marienau admitted that ASUN was
wrong in trying to get absentee ballots for
students who would be in Lancaster
County on election iay.
"We were obviously wrong. We made an
assumption that was incorrect," he said.
State law makes voting by absentee
ballot while in home county a criminal of
fense, according to Secretary of State Allen
Beermann.
Marienau said more than 150 students
were contacted by phone and told they
could not vote in Lancaster County. They
could vote, however, in their home coun
ties if registered there, he said.
Apologies sent
Letters of apology were sent to those
who were affected.
Marienau said ASUN's Government Li
aison Committee originally contacted Lan
caster County Election Commissioner Bill
Davidson around October 1 , asking him to
set up registration booths at UNL.
Davidson refused because his office was
overworked and the election was so near,
Marienau said.
Davidson said he refused the request be
cause his office did not set up registration
booths outside the County-City Building
except at the Gateway shopping center.
ASUN then contacted the League of
Women Voters to see if it would be willing
to serve as registrars, Marienau said.
Davidson refused to deputize them,
saying they were not qualified, according
to Marienau.
To be deputized the women would have
had to go to Davidson's office, been in
structed in law and procedures and given
the supplies and forms, according to David
son. Last resort
As a last resort to register voters on
campus, ASUN set up a booth for students
to request absentee ballots and
registrations.
When the requests were brought into
the election commission office about an
hour before the October 27 deadline,
"they were very upset with us, saying we
broke all kinds of laws," Marienau said,
and they refused to process them.
By the time Secretary of State Allen
Beermann could be reached on the matter,
the deadline for registration had passed, he
said.
Beermann told them it would be alright
to send the requests for other counties'
registration to their election offices,
Marienau said.
About two-thirds of those were
processed, he added, but the other counties
were uncertain whether to process them.
Beermann said the problem with the
other county's forms was that they
requested absentee registration forms and
not ballots.
No such thing
"There is no such thing as absentee
registration," he said.
The law stipulates that a person may re
quest an absentee ballot. When the county
checks the person's registration and finds
he or she has not registered, a registration
form is sent along, Beermann said.
"We have to follow the law precisely.
The problem is they requested registrations
instead of ballots."
Beermann said his office never even sees
absentee ballot requests.
One of the students complaining in the
ASUN Office Tuesday was Heidi Schlitt,
daughter of Marge Schlitt, who was
running for Nebraska Legislature.
Schlitt said Davidson's office told her
that ASUN's reigstration drive was illegal.
In tears, she later accused Marienau of
helping her mother lose the election.
Waited four years
Schlitt, 18, told him that she had waited
four years to vote for her mother.
"This is my first and last chance to vote
for my mother.
"I found out you can't trust ASUN for
one thing," Schlitt said.
She said part of the bblame should be
placed on the election commissioner for.
not setting up a registration booth.
Another who complained was Nicolas
Tabet, a research technologist for the
agronomy department.
Tabet said he was told he would receive
more information in the mail but when he
did not, he contacted the election commis
sion and was told he could not vote.
"I was very mad," he said. "I was
getting involved in the election."
Tabet said he had filled out his absentee
ballots so he could be prepared to vote.
Defeating
"It's very defeating when you spend so
much time and you get it all ripped out
from under you."
Agriculture major Jane Palmer said she
received her letter of apology on Tuesday
which suggested she get an absentee ballot
from her home county,
"It's a little late," she said.
"I'm a strong supporter of the bottle
bill. If your issue or candidate loses you
have a license to complain."
Palmer said she was told that the form
she filled out was all she needed to register
in Lancaster County.
Marienau said Davidson's office
promised to set up a booth for next
spring's election.
Bereuter said he was less confident than
he had been a week before, due to "two
shocks" his campaign had received on
Saturday, when an Omaha World -Herald
poll which showed him trailing Dyas, and a
postcard mailed out by the Dyas campaign
featuring a photograph of Dyas with
Bereuter's primary opponent, State Sen.
Loran Schmit of Bellewood.
"We were confused by the World -Herald
poll," Bereuter said. "We had been relying
exclusively on newspaper polls since June."
But he said the poll motivated
volunteers to work harder in the last three
days of the campaign in their get-out -and -vote
effort.
He said his fears that he would lose
support due to the postcard mailing did
not prove to be true.
"By the looks of things, it didn't seem
to have a large negative effect," Bereuter
said.
The confidence of the Bereuter camp
aign was illustrated by stickers which began
to appear when the election swung toward
Bereuter. The stickers read "Join the Re
election Team, Cong. Bereuter in '80."
He said he had no immediate plans
following the election, as "I am a little
superstitious and do not plan beyond the
election."
But he said he would "take about two
and one half days off. We have about
enough money left in the budget to take a
trip all the way to some exotic place like
Ashland."
He said he had some personal arrange
ments to make, such as finding living
quarters in Washington, before taking
office and said he would like to attend
seminars for newly elected congressmen
sponsored by the Republican Congressional
Committee and by the Kennedy Institute
of Government at Harvard.
Bereuter had participated in the first
Kennedy Institute seminar when he was a
graduate student at Harvard in 1973, he
said.
He said his biggest immediate job
"might be to understand who the people
are I need to thank and then thank them
the way I want to."
Bereuter was counciliatory to Dyas and
his supporters in a statement given to
Lincoln's KOLN TV.
He said he realized that Dyas and his
supporters had worked hard in the
campaign and said, "I believe very much in
representing people first. Parties come
second, but I believe we are seeing a re
surgence in the state Republican party."
Dyas was unavailable for comment as he
had let the Democratic party at the Knolls
before the Daily Nebraskan arrived to
interview him.
Election results at a glance
Charles Thone is the new
governor page 9
John Cavanaugh and Virginia
Smith returning to Congress
page 7
Exon to join Zorinsky in
Senate page 1 1
Landis, Beutler and Wesley are
new Lincoln legislators page 6
Schwartzkopf and Hansen still
regents page 10
Bottle bill and lid lose . .page 1 0
City-County races page 10
inside
Wednesday
How to drink well: Drinkers can live
it up without having to live it
down page 4
Young at heart: Author Madelaine
L'Engle writes fantasy for chil
dren and idults page 1 6
Top form Despite some injuries,
Huskers should be healthy
Saturday page 18