Aaron Sanderford
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court will weigh in Wednesday on whether the Legislature has the authority to change the timing of when people with felony convictions get back their right to vote.
The court took the unusual step Tuesday of announcing a midweek opinion. Justices usually issue opinions on Fridays. But, as voting rights advocates pointed out in a recent letter, Friday is the last day for Nebraskans to register to vote by mail or online.
The deadline for registering in-person is Oct. 25.
Thousands of Nebraskans are waiting to hear whether they can register to vote now under Legislative Bill 20, a new state law that eliminated a two-year wait to vote after serving a felony sentence.
Those people are in legal limbo because Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen and Attorney General Mike Hilgers joined Gov. Jim Pillen in interpreting LB 20 and its predecessor from 2005, LB 53, as constitutional overreach by the legislative branch.
Those three executives — who serve together as the Nebraska Pardons Board — argue that only the executive branch via the Pardons Board has the authority to restore a Nebraskan’s civil rights under the state Constitution, including voting rights.
The Voting Rights Restoration Coalition sued them, arguing that a bipartisan group of state senators in the Nebraska Legislature have the authority to decide the timing of when people regain their voting rights, based on case law and nearly two decades of LB 53 being law.
Justices heard oral arguments on the case in late August. Attorneys for ACLU Nebraska and the Attorney General’s Office sparred about whether the Legislature overstepped its authority.
The discussion also questioned whether the Secretary of State overstepped by acting administratively to stop people from registering based on the new law after Hilgers issued an advisory opinion arguing LB 20 and LB 53 were potentially unconstitutional.
RISE, a re-entry program for incarcerated Nebraskans and others involved in the justice system, has argued that more than 7,000 Nebraskans could see their voting rights restored. Civic Nebraska and others say hundreds are ready to register.
“We are grateful that the Court is releasing a midweek decision to provide clarity for tens of thousands of Nebraskans who are eager to vote in this election,” Civic Nebraska said in a statement after hearing of the pending opinion.
Voting rights advocates have said they have teams of volunteers ready to help people register if the court decides LB 20 is the law of the land. Evnen, the state’s top election official, has said he will follow the court’s ruling.
Neither Evnen nor Hilgers had any immediate comment Tuesday.