Felon Voting Rights

Advocates celebrate passage of felon voting rights bill in Nebraska

By Joanna Lindberg, co-director of government

The hard work of advocates – including the League of Women Voters of Nebraska – who supported the passage of a felon voting rights bill by the Nebraska Legislature in 2024 is being recognized with events held in Omaha and, this coming weekend, in Lincoln.

The felon voting rights bill, LB20, championed for years by Omaha state Senator Justin Wayne, passed by a wide 38-6-5 margin in the last year of his final term. (Three senators were excused not voting, and two were present not voting.)

The bill was to go into effect on July 19, allowing individuals who committed a felony and have completed probation/parole to register to vote immediately rather than waiting two years under the previous law. However, on July 17, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers issued a formal opinion stating that “only the Nebraska Pardons Board – not the Legislature – has the authority to restore a person’s voting rights under the Nebraska Constitution’s separation of powers.”

According to a story in the July 17 Nebraska Examiner, attorney general “opinions do not carry the force of law. New state laws are in effect until a court acts. But Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen effectively handed Hilgers that power [on July 17] by halting any new registrations by felons who would have been eligible to vote under the new law or its predecessor.”

The Secretary of State’s Office announced that Evnen “is ‘directing’ county election officials not to register anyone who hasn’t had his or her right to vote restored by the Pardons Board,” according to the July 17 story in the Nebraska Examiner. “The office said Evnen will ask the Pardons Board at its Aug. 20 meeting to restore the voting rights of Nebraska felons who registered to vote under the previous law, which restored felons’ right to vote after two years.”

The new voter registration form is available here.

To celebrate the passage of LB20 by the state Legislature in 2024, RISE – the largest nonprofit organization in Nebraska focused solely on habilitative programming in prisons and reentry support – held an event in Omaha on July 20 with another gathering set for Lincoln from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, at Turbine Flats, 2124 Y St. Reserve your seat.

Due to the attorney general’s opinion and secretary of state’s directive, voter registration is not part of these events. Instead, these events celebrate the passage of LB20 by the Nebraska Legislature in 2024 and include speakers, including from the ACLU, to give a legal perspective. Then participants will take time to act with postcards and phone calls to the Nebraska attorney general and secretary of state.

According to The Sentencing Project, LB20 was the only felon voting rights bill passed by a state legislature this year. You can read a July 11 report from The Sentencing Project about Nebraska’s attempts to expand voting rights for individuals who have completed a felony sentence here.

The Nebraska Voting Rights Restoration Coalition – of which the LWVNE is a member – will continue to update the public about felon voting rights in the state.