GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) – A Nebraska notary public trial charged with improperly signing off on medical cannabis petitions moved into witness testimony Monday afternoon following opening statements.
Jacy Todd, 54, of York, faces 24 counts of official misconduct. He is accused of improperly signing off on medical marijuana petitions in 2024.
The jury for Todd’s trial is comprised of seven men and one woman.
David Wilson, an attorney with 15 years of experience who has worked with the Secretary of State’s Office for 12 years in the licenses division, was the first witness to testify. He provided testimony about Nebraska’s notary public regulations and requirements.
Wilson reviewed evidence presented by the state, including documents outlining the duties and rules for notary publics in Nebraska. He explained that to become a notary public in Nebraska, a person must:
Wilson testified that the oath does not make a person an officer of the Secretary of State’s office.
Wilson explained that notary publics have significant authority, they are authorized to administer an oath in all cases, similar to a judge. Wilson noted that few jobs grant such authority.
The notary exam is an open-book exam that is now administered online, allowing test-takers to use any available resources.
Critical to this case, the exam covers physical presence requirements for notarization.
Wilson reviewed Jacy Todd’s application to become a notary public, which he completed in June 2021. None of the questions on Todd’s application disqualified him from becoming a notary public. Todd took the Notary’s Oath in June 2021 and was commissioned as a notary on July 29, 2021, for a four-year term expiring July 29, 2025.
During cross-examination, Porto asked Wilson about the structure of the notary exam, asking how many questions it contains and whether everyone receives the same exam. Wilson confirmed they do.
Porto also inquired about renewal procedures, specifically asking whether there is a follow-up exam when someone renews their notary commission. Wilson stated there is not—renewal requires an application but no written exam.
Porto questioned Wilson about the ID requirements for notarization, asking whether a principal needs to show an ID each time. Wilson explained that once a principal shows an ID once, they may not need to show it again due to something called “personal knowledge.”
Wayne Bena, who has served as the Nebraska Deputy Secretary of State for Elections since 2017 and previously served as Sarpy County Election Commissioner, provided testimony on the ballot initiative petition process.
Bena explained the steps required to get an initiative on the ballot:
Bena testified that to sign a petition, a person must be a registered voter in Nebraska. To be a circulator of petitions, a person must be at least 18 years old.
When a sponsor files their petitions, they must submit a form verifying they have collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. The state then accepts the filing and sorts the petitions by county for verification.
Bena testified that an election official named Tracy contacted him and reported irregularities in some of the petitions submitted. Following this discovery, Bena recommended that the alleged bad petitions be referred to law enforcement.
Bena stated that all other 92 counties returned their petitions as legitimate. The state retained some petitions for evidence purposes.
State attorney Mike Jensen presented Bena with petitions from the medical marijuana campaign. All of the petitions shown to Bena were notarized by Jacy Todd on June 10, 2024. Michael Egbert was identified as the petition circulator for the papers presented during the trial.
Jensen walked through several of the petitions circulated by Egbert and notarized by Todd, which were entered into evidence.
Bena testified that he has never met Jacy Todd or Pam Todd.
When the defense took over questioning, they focused on the distinction between the role of the circulator and the role of the notary. The defense argued that it was the circulator, Michael Egbert, not the notary, Jacy Todd, who is at fault for any irregularities in the petitions.
Tracy Overstreet, the Hall County Election Commissioner, testified about the process of verifying signatures on petitions and the irregularities her office discovered.
Overstreet explained how her office verifies signatures on petitions. It was a part-time staff member who first caught a critical irregularity—a signature from a person who had died several years before the petitions were even circulated.
Following that discovery, another staffer identified another voter who had also died. This prompted a more thorough review of the petitions.
After finding the deceased voters, Overstreet’s office found several additional irregularities in petitions from Michael Egbert. These included instances where people misspelled their own names or provided incorrect birth dates.
Upon discovering these issues, Overstreet reported her findings to Hall County Attorney Marty Klein’s office and to the Sheriff’s office.
Overstreet was also asked to give a demonstration of how a notary public performs their duties and to explain best practices for notarization.
During defense questioning, Porto asked Overstreet a key question: If a notary is certifying petitions, does that mean they are certifying that everything contained in the petitions is always true?
Overstreet answered no.
Hall County Attorney Marty Klein detailed the charges against Todd and focused on the credibility of Michael Egbert, who has prior criminal convictions.
Klein told the jury that in two instances, Todd stamped petitions while Egbert was not even in Nebraska. In one case, Klein said Egbert was in Pennsylvania at the time. Klein also noted that Egbert asked his wife to deliver petitions to Herban Pulse while he was away, and in another instance, Egbert’s daughter’s boyfriend dropped off petitions without even seeing the documents, which were kept in a folder.
Egbert is expected to testify during the trial.
Todd’s testimony will come through a deposition during the trial.
Mark T. Porto, Todd’s attorney, told the jury that Todd was a combat medic whose experience led him to become an advocate for medical marijuana. Porto said Todd was one of the leaders in collecting signatures to legalize medical cannabis and worked on petition drives in 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Porto noted that in 2024, Todd took a step back from the petition effort, with his wife Pam serving as the driving force for gathering signatures.
Porto explained that Todd became a notary because he identified a bottleneck in the petition process. He stated that Todd never forged any signatures and did not know that what he was doing was wrong at the time, making him innocent of the charges.
The state objected to Porto’s statement about Todd’s knowledge of wrongdoing. Porto countered that Egbert would claim he brought already-signed petitions to Todd, but Todd maintains that is not accurate.
Porto asked the jury to consider motive and credibility, questioning who has already lied in the case.
A statement by the defense prompted both sides to meet in the judge’s chambers.
Opening statements concluded around 1:20 p.m., and witness testimony began shortly after.
The trial concluded Monday around 4:45 p.m. More witnesses are expected to testify in the coming days.
Todd requested a jury trial last April, which was granted by the court in May.
The case has had a complicated legal history. After Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Hall County Attorney Marty Klein filed charges last fall, County Judge Alfred Corey initially dismissed them. The defense argued that notary publics are not government workers and therefore cannot face criminal penalties.
District Judge Andrew Butler overruled that dismissal, ruling that notaries are public servants and can be held criminally liable.
In his opinion, Judge Butler questioned the pursuit of criminal charges against Todd, noting “the current climate of the state,” an apparent reference to Nebraska voters’ passage of medical marijuana laws last fall.
However, Butler stated that such policy decisions “are left to another entity.”
Todd announced last July that he was running for governor as a Republican challenger to Gov. Jim Pillen in the GOP primary. He also operates a CBD health and wellness retail store in central Nebraska.
The trial continues with witness testimony underway.
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