Hi John,
This week, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled in favor of upholding a recently passed state law – Legislative Bill 20 (LB 20) – that restores voting rights upon completion of a sentence, including any parole term, eliminating the state’s 2-year waiting period.
In the opinion section of the New York Times, Brent Staples highlighted the court case and The Sentencing Project’s nationwide efforts to restore voting rights to justice-impacted residents:
The change in Nebraska is part of a welcome trend outlined in a new analysis by the Sentencing Project…Since Jan. 1, 2020, 11 states — including California, Connecticut, Iowa and Minnesota, — have expanded voting rights for some non-incarcerated people with felony convictions. As states have enacted policies to curtail disenfranchisement, there has also been a decline in the number of people in prison, on probation and out on parole. As a consequence, the disenfranchised population has fallen from a little under six million in 2016 to about four million today.
As a national partner to Nebraska’s Voting Rights Restoration Coalition, we were thrilled with the passage of LB 20 in July. The Sentencing Project organized a national sign-on letter, participated in weekly strategy calls, published data on Nebraska’s disenfranchisement population and the disproportionate impact these laws have on Black and brown communities, and uplifted the voices and experiences of directly impacted Nebraskans to help support the passage of LB 20.
However, two days before the law was set to go into effect, Attorney General Mike Hilgers issued a formal opinion claiming that the legislature unconstitutionally infringed on the executive branch’s exclusive authority to restore Nebraskans’ civil rights. The Secretary of State Bob Evnen supported AG Hilgers’ opinion and halted any new registrations of persons with felony convictions who would have been eligible to vote under the new law or its predecessor. Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling upholds LB 20 and allows eligible Nebraskans with felony convictions to register to vote.
That it took this long to reach this decision as the Nebraska voter registration deadline rapidly approaches is egregious. The fight for rights restoration must not stop here. True justice demands extending voting rights to all citizens, regardless of their current legal status, ensuring that everyone can help shape the future of our communities.
