Nebraska Supreme Court to decide if lawmakers there can restore voting rights to felons

The Nebraska Supreme Court heard arguments this week on whether a recently passed law, which allows former felons to vote, violates the state’s constitution. Nebraska is one of 26 states and the District of Columbia that have restored former felons’ right to vote. John Yang discussed the court case with Kassidy Arena of Nebraska Public Media.

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Geoff Bennett: The Nebraska Supreme Court heard arguments this week on whether a recently passed law which allows former felons to vote violates the state’s constitution.

John Yang is here with more.

John Yang: Geoff, last month, just before this law was to take effect, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said in a written opinion that lawmakers do not have the authority to restore the voting rights of felons who’ve completed their sentences. He said only the state Pardon Board can do that.

In response, the Nebraska secretary of state told local election officials to stop registering voters who’ve been convicted of felonies, but not pardoned. Now the state’s highest court will have the final say. Nebraska is one of 26 states and the District of Columbia that have restored former felons’ right to vote to some extent or another over the past three decades.

Kassidy Arena is a senior reporter at Nebraska Public Media.

So, Kassidy, we have the oral arguments the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Where do things stand now?

Kassidy Arena, Senior Reporter, Nebraska Public Media: Well, John, that’s probably a question a lot of people are asking.

There’s a lot up in the air right now, and especially as we wait for the Supreme Court decision. As of right now, though, the secretary of state, Bob Evnen, has told registration offices to stop registering people who have been convicted of felonies, whether or not they have completed the two-year wait period.

So the question really is where are we now for a lot of the folks that these laws apply to, for people, Nebraskans who have been convicted of felonies? It’s kind of up in the air on whether or not they will be able to register to vote and to vote in this election.

John Yang: Any indication when the Supreme Court’s going to hand down their decision?

Kassidy Arena: It’s hard to tell. The secretary of state’s office obviously has some deadlines that it has to comply with, and those are coming up in October. So that’s the only thing that the secretary of state’s office really needs to know in order to meet those voter registration deadlines.

Other than that, more of just a waiting game.

John Yang: You mentioned voters who’ve registered in 2005. In 2005, there was a law passed that allowed former felons to register to vote or to vote after a two-year waiting period. And the attorney general’s opinion also addressed that, saying the legislature didn’t have the right to do that.

So you have had this two decades almost of people registering to vote. What’s going to happen to them?

Kassidy Arena: So, John, just to really outline that, there is — there are two laws that are kind of up for question right now. The one that’s 19 years old, LB 53, it basically said if you have completed your felony sentence, you have completed it entirely and you wait two years, you can register to vote.

Then LB 20 came in, which is the big one that really caused all of the conversation. That eliminated that two-year waiting period. So we have two then that the attorney general did publish his opinion saying that both of them were unconstitutional.

Now, the secretary of state’s office has said that the individuals who registered to vote under that previous law, that two-year waiting period law, they’re not going to go and back and roll out on all of those people who registered to vote. So all of the people who registered to vote under that law, they should still be able to vote in this election.

However, it is on pause for anybody who didn’t get in during that kind of loophole time. So the people that already registered, they should be good to go.

John Yang: Despite all this court fight, this law actually passed the legislature by a large margin. It was 38-6. Was there much debate over it there?

Kassidy Arena: So there was some debate. Obviously, it did pass with a big majority.

It seemed that many lawmakers did think the two-year waiting period was fine to begin with, but then with some spearheading from some other lawmakers, they decided to eliminate that. But the big thing here is — and I’m sure you all have already done your research on this as well — is the bill actually passed and became law because Nebraska allows a bill to become law without the signature of the governor.

And that’s kind of — that was where the questions started to sprout from.

John Yang: Now, you mentioned the sort of uncertainty over what’s happening with these former felons.

What’s the — what effect is this having on them, do you think?

Kassidy Arena: Yes, so there has been some estimates that around 7,000 formerly incarcerated people who’ve been convicted of felonies are kind of just up in the air. They really don’t know if they can vote in this election.

And we’re getting really close to the election at this point. So it’s probably a little bit disconcerting to be like, hey, do I get to vote in this election that’s coming up very soon or can I not? And so it’s been a little bit disheartening for some people who this LB 20, eliminating that waiting period, it was really exciting for them to know that they could vote.

And now they just don’t know if that excitement was warranted or not.

John Yang: The election is coming up, as you mentioned.

Is anyone saying that the outcome of this case could have a political effect?

Kassidy Arena: It’s really hard to say. So, District 2, which is the area of Omaha, the biggest city in Nebraska, it’s hard to tell where that district will go. It can kind of go back and forth. Occasionally, it’s known as the blue dot in the typically red Nebraska. But, sometimes, it can go red as well.

I believe in the — let’s say, I believe in — Biden won District 2 by over 2,000. So it’s hard to tell where — what effect it will have this election year.

John Yang: And, of course, this is important because Nebraska splits its electoral votes by congressional district.

Kassidy Arena of Nebraska Public Media, thank you very much.

Kassidy Arena: Thank you, John.