People with felony records can now vote in Nebraska — and it could help tip the balance in November

People with felony records can now vote in Nebraska — and it could help tip the balance in NovemberBy MARGERY A. BECKAssociated PressThe Associated PressOMAHA, Neb.from people convicted of a felony, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a decision that could add hundreds of new voters to the rolls and potentially help tip the balance on Nov.

5. Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district by more than 13,000 following a redrawing of the borders in 2021. But the district also has nearly 114,000 independent and third-party voters.



In 2020, Biden bested former President Donald Trump there by more than 22,000 votes.and Democratic groups have spent millions there to secure the precious electoral vote — far more than Trump and Republican groups. The attorney general’s opinion said that the 2024 law allowing people with felony convictions to vote violated the state constitution’s separation of powers and that only the state Board of Pardons under the control of the executive branch could restore voting rights through pardons.

Pardons are exceedingly rare in Nebraska. Evnen, Hilgers and Gov. Jim Pillen make up the three-member Board of Pardons, and all three are Republicans.

But the justices diverged wildly in separate writings on whether they believe both voting-rights laws are constitutional. Several justices said the court should not reach a conclusion, while two of its most conservative members — Justices Jeffrey Funke and John Freudenberg — said they would find them unconstitutional. “For so long, I was uncertain if my voice would truly count under this law,” Spung said in a statement.

“Today’s decision reaffirms the fundamental principle that every vote matters.”“Over the years, so many of us have earned a second chance. We live in every part of the state, and the truth is most of us are just trying to live our lives and leave the past behind us,” he said.

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