Nebraska Supreme Court restores voting rights to thousands of convicted felons

The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the attorney general does not have the authority to disenfranchise residents with criminal records, a major decision that could allow thousands of new voters to participate in the November election — and potentially have the right to vote decisive influence on the result.

The court’s unanimous decision restores voting rights to Nebraska residents with criminal records after they serve their sentences and eliminates the two-year waiting period that has been in place for the past two decades.

The decision comes months after the Nebraska Supreme Court heard arguments in the case seeking to restore voting rights to residents with felony convictions in the state.

The legislature incorporated the new voting rights provision into a state law, LB 20, at the beginning of the year. However, that right was invalidated by Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen and Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who ruled in July that the law violates the Nebraska Constitution and separation of powers, which states that only the state’s pardon board has the authority to restore such rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska immediately sued to overturn the decision, pointing out that if it had been upheld, it could have prevented up to 7,000 state residents from voting in the November election.

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The court declined to comment on the merits of the case on Wednesday.

Rather, the judges simply found that Hilgers and Evnen had failed to meet the burden of proof required to define the law as “unconstitutional” and ordered Evnen to “overturn any exclusion from registration that he imposed that was not in LB 20 should be repealed.”

Evnen agreed and said in a statement that his office was “following the requirements of the decision.”

“Together with our counties across the state, we are working to ensure that those who were eligible to register to vote under LB 20 are now able to do so,” he added.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska praised the court’s decision Wednesday and urged all voters to check their registration status to ensure their eligibility to vote.

The court’s ruling comes at a crucial time for Nebraska, whose voter registration deadline is just a week away.

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A unanimous ruling by the Nebraska Supreme Court will allow several thousand ex-felons in the Cornhusker State to vote just weeks before Election Day. (iStock)

It could also have a major impact on election results, including the neck-and-neck presidential race and close voting battles in Congress.

Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District is something of an anomaly. This is due in part to the Electoral College’s unique system of allocating votes. Although Nebraska is a Republican-led state, it is one of only two U.S. states whose electoral votes are allocated at the district level, with the remaining two votes allocated to the candidate who wins the majority.

In addition to Nebraska and Maine, other states also rely on the winner-take-all system to allocate their votes.

Additionally, the voter base consists of a solid purple demographic that voted for both former President Donald Trump and President Biden in the last two presidential elections. Previously, Senator Mitt Romney won the district in his presidential bid in 2012, and former President Barack Obama won the election in 2008.

The down-bot races are also expected to be close.

Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, a Republican, faces a tough re-election this year, while Republican Rep. Don Bacon is battling Democrat Sen. Tony Vargas to keep his House seat.

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With both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in a dead heat, it’s possible the district could have more influence than ever in deciding the next president.

In such a close election, Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District “could determine who the ultimate winner will be,” Jimmy Keady, president of JLK Political Strategies, a national Republican consulting firm, told Fox News Digital last month.