Jason Witmer is a policy strategist whose lived experience, legislative expertise, and community‑rooted advocacy have made him one of Nebraska’s most compelling voices on civil rights, criminal legal reform, and voting access.
Witmer's work as a Policy Strategist at the ACLU of Nebraska reflects the organization’s broader mission to defend civil liberties and expand democratic participation statewide.
The Fulcrum spoke with Witmer on a recent episode of The Fulcrum Democracy Forum.
- YouTube youtu.be
At the ACLU of Nebraska, Witmer has become a respected presence in the state legislature, frequently testifying before the Judiciary Committee on issues ranging from restrictive housing to voting rights. His testimony on solitary confinement draws from both research and personal experience, offering lawmakers a rare combination of policy analysis and lived insight.
Witmer's contributions to civic life were highlighted in The 50: Voices of a Nation, where he discussed the landscape of voting rights and civic engagement in Nebraska and the importance of ensuring that every community has a meaningful voice in the democratic process.
- YouTube youtu.be
Before entering policy work, Witmer earned an associate degree in human services from Southeast Community College and spent years supporting Nebraskans in crisis as a peer specialist and later as a program coordinator at a peer respite house. That work, along with his public education efforts on the impacts of the criminal legal system, gave him a close view of how state policies shape people’s lives long before they reach a courtroom or a cell.
His leadership in democracy work has also been recognized beyond the Capitol. In 2025, Civic Nebraska honored him with the Jan Gradwohl Defender of Democracy Award for his efforts to restore voting rights and strengthen civic participation among justice‑impacted Nebraskans.
Witmer’s work reflects the mission of the ACLU of Nebraska, a statewide organization dedicated to defending and advancing civil liberties through litigation, policy advocacy, and community engagement. The organization focuses on protecting voting rights, challenging discriminatory practices in the criminal legal system, defending LGBTQ+ equality, safeguarding reproductive freedom, and ensuring due process for immigrant communities. Across these issue areas, the ACLU of Nebraska works to uphold constitutional protections for all Nebraskans, especially those whose rights are most vulnerable to erosion.
Within that mission, Witmer plays a key role in connecting policy debates to the people most affected by them. Whether he is analyzing legislation, meeting with community members, or testifying before lawmakers, his work underscores the idea that civil liberties are not abstract principles but daily realities that determine who gets to participate fully in society.
Witmer's trajectory—from peer support to statewide policy strategist—illustrates how lived experience can inform and strengthen civil rights advocacy, and why Nebraska’s civic landscape is richer for the voices he helps elevate.
Hugo Balta is the executive editor of The Fulcrum and the publisher of the Latino News Network, and twice president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
