Nebraska secretary of state: Stop registering felon voters

The opinion called two laws — Legislative Bill 20 and Legislative Bill 53 — unconstitutional because they restored voting rights to people convicted of felonies. Attorney General Mike Hilgers contends that power lies with Nebraska’s Board of Pardons.

LB 53, passed in 2005, granted felons the right to vote after they completed a two-year waiting period following the completion of their sentences. LB 20, passed earlier this year, eliminated the two-year waiting period, so people with felony convictions could register to vote immediately upon finishing their sentences.

Gov. Jim Pillen allowed LB 20 to become law without his signature. Near the end of the legislative session, the governor voiced his reservations about the bill, inviting the secretary of state and attorney general’s offices to look into potential constitutional issues with it. Officially, Wednesday’s opinion was in response to an inquiry from the secretary of state.

The attorney general concluded that LB20 and LB53 violated the separation of powers clause in the Nebraska Constitution. The opinion concluded that only the Board of Pardons could restore voting rights to an individual convicted of a felony.

“By restoring the franchise for felons, the Legislature impermissibly arrogated the Board of Pardons’ executive power to itself,” the opinion reads.

Evnen’s direction to election offices means that people who have felony records in Nebraska can no longer register to vote unless they’ve been pardoned, no matter how long it’s been since they completed their sentence. This makes Nebraska one of the strictest states in the nation when it comes to felon voting rights.

At a Pardon’s Board meeting Aug. 20, Evnen said he intends to request the restoration of voting rights for currently registered voters with felony convictions who were properly registered under LB 53. Prior to the meeting, Evnen does not intend to remove voters with felony convictions from the voter registration system, according to a press release from his office.

Wednesday’s announcement was met with criticism from those who supported the passage of LB 20, including State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha. He called the decision “sad” and “hypocritical.”

“Individuals who were incarcerated and served their time should be allowed to vote,” he said.