Nebraska felon voting rights/ ex-felon voting Nebraska/ Nebraska Supreme Court voting decision/ voting rights restoration/ felony voting rights/ Newslooks/ OMAHA/ Neb./ The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the state’s top election official cannot block people with felony convictions from voting. The decision, impacting around 7,000 residents, supports a recent law restoring voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences and will affect key upcoming elections.
Nebraska Felon Voting Rights Restored Quick Look
- Ruling: Nebraska Supreme Court allows ex-felons to register to vote.
- Challenge: Secretary of State’s order to block registrations overturned.
- Impact: Decision affects approximately 7,000 Nebraskans.
- National Relevance: Key voting rights issue amid growing nationwide focus.
Nebraska Supreme Court Restores Voting Rights for Ex-Felons
Deep Look
The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that people with felony convictions who have completed their sentences must be allowed to register to vote. This decision reverses an order by Secretary of State Bob Evnen, who, following an opinion from Attorney General Mike Hilgers, instructed county election officials in July to reject voter registrations from ex-felons. The high court’s ruling secures the right to vote for approximately 7,000 Nebraskans, just weeks before the 2024 general election.
The contested issue began when Evnen cited Hilgers’ opinion declaring that a new law, passed by the Nebraska Legislature, restoring voting rights to ex-felons immediately upon completing their sentences, was unconstitutional. According to Hilgers, only the state’s Board of Pardons, comprised of Governor Jim Pillen, Evnen, and Hilgers himself—all Republicans—has the authority to reinstate voting rights.
The court’s decision brings clarity just ahead of Nebraska’s voter registration deadline on October 25, with Election Day set for November 5. Many of the impacted voters reside in Omaha’s 2nd Congressional District, a district that has, on two occasions, awarded a single electoral vote to Democratic presidential candidates—once in 2008 to Barack Obama and again in 2020 to Joe Biden. In a presidential race projected to be tight, this electoral vote could play a decisive role.
Broader National Context
The restoration of voting rights for people with felony convictions has garnered national attention in recent years. States have varying policies on the matter, with most allowing some form of voting restoration either after release from prison or upon full sentence completion. Only Maine and Vermont allow individuals to vote even while incarcerated.
In several states, felony disenfranchisement laws have faced legal battles. Florida’s 2018 amendment to restore voting rights for ex-felons was modified by the legislature, and Governor Ron DeSantis’ newly established election police unit has arrested former felons who attempted to vote, citing registration confusion. In Tennessee, a bipartisan proposal to restore voting rights without requiring gun rights restoration was struck down.
These felony disenfranchisement laws, rooted in the Jim Crow era, have disproportionately impacted Black voters. This is especially significant in Nebraska’s Omaha district, where Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’s campaign and supporters have invested heavily in voter outreach, hoping to secure the district’s critical electoral vote.
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