The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that convicted felons who served their sentences are allowed to vote, after the state’s top election official sought to keep them from casting ballots ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Nebraska has historically restored the voting rights of former felons two years after they completed the terms of their sentences. Earlier this year, state legislators voted on a bipartisan basis to eliminate the two-year waiting period. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers later argued that only the state’s board of pardons could restore voting rights, and Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen ordered local registrars to stop letting all people with previous felony convictions vote, arguing the laws enfranchising them were unconstitutional.
On Wednesday, Nebraska’s top court disagreed, writing that state officials had not convinced them the law, known as L.B. 20, was unconstitutional.
Fossil