Senator Phil Erdman believes a petition effort to place the move of the State Fair from Lincoln to Grand island on the general election ballot never got close to gathering the 60,000 signatures they needed. FairVote Nebraska said it received a lot of support for its effort in Lancaster and Hall counties, but said it could not get the necessary signatures from at least thirty eight counties in the state to be successful. The group did not say how many overall signatures they collected.

Erdman, whose Agriculture Committee crafted the compromise between the fair, state officials and leaders of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said the group didn't have the public support for their cause.

Erdman says he wouldn't be surprised if the group uses another tactic, possibly a lawsuit, to block the State Fair move.