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    Voting Rights Restoration Efforts in Nebraska

    A summary of current felony disenfranchisement policies and legislative advocacy in Nebraska.

    Last Updated: October 16, 2024
    Published: May 10, 2017

    Disenfranchisement in Nebraska

    Nebraskans convicted of a felony have their voting rights automatically restored once they have completed the terms of their sentence, including parole. People who are convicted of treason are permanently disenfranchised unless pardoned.

    Legislative Efforts

    • In April 2024, the legislature passed LB 20, a bill that would repeal Nebraska’s two-year waiting period and provide for the automatic restoration of voting rights upon completion of sentence. Gov. Jim Pillen allowed the bill to become law without his signature on April 17, 2024.
      • On July 17, 2024, two days before LB 20 was scheduled to take effect, Attorney General Mike Hilgers issued a nonbinding advisory opinion concluding that LB 53, the law imposing the two-year waiting period, and LB 20, the law getting rid of it, are unconstitutional because Nebraska’s constitution authorizes the state’s board of pardons, not the legislature, to restore voting rights. No court has ruled on this, and these laws remain in effect. Yet Secretary of State Bob Evnen told local election officials to stop registering people with felony convictions to vote unless their voting rights have been restored by the pardons board.
      • On July 29, 2024, the ACLU, the ACLU of Nebraska, and the law firm Faegre Drinker filed a lawsuit asking the Nebraska Supreme Court to compel Evnen and local election officials to enforce LB 20 and LB 53. On October 16, 2024, the Nebraska Supreme Court entered an order directing election officials to implement both laws immediately. 
    • In April 2017, the legislature passed LB 75, a bill that would have repealed Nebraska’s two-year waiting period provided for the automatic restoration of voting rights upon completion of sentence. The Brennan Center provided advocates with legal analysis on the bill’s validity under the state constitution, and Diane Kincaid, then-Deputy Director of the American Probation and Parole Association, wrote a letter to legislators in support of the bill. Gov. Pete Ricketts vetoed LB 75, and the legislature’s attempt to override his veto failed.
    • In March 2005, the legislature passed LB 53, which repealed lifetime disenfranchisement and provided for the automatic restoration of voting rights two-years after completion of sentence. The Brennan Center provided an independent state constitutional analysis, demonstrating that the legislature has authority to restore voting rights. The analysis was used by the bill’s sponsor to counter two advisory opinions that were issued by former attorney generals providing that only the board of pardons has constitutional authority to restore civil rights, including voting rights. Gov. Dave Heineman vetoed LB 53, but the legislature overrode the veto and enacted it into law.
    • In late 2004, a legislative commission known as the Vote Nebraska Initiative recommended that the state adopt automatic restoration of voting rights upon completion of sentence.

    Brennan Center Materials

    Press

    Brennan Center Publications

    • Restoring the Right to Vote, Erika Wood (2009)
      • The Brennan Center’s policy proposal for restoring voting rights for citizens with past criminal convictions.
    • My First Vote (2009)
      • Testimonials of individuals who regained their voting rights after being disenfranchised because of past criminal convictions.
    • De Facto Disenfranchisement, Erika Wood & Rachel Bloom (2008)
      • A report on how complex laws, poorly informed officials, and misinformation lead to the de facto disenfranchisement of citizens with past criminal convictions who are eligible to vote.
    • Racism & Felony Disenfranchisement: An Intertwined History, Erin Kelley (2017)
      • A piece examining the historical roots of criminal disenfranchisement laws that today strip voting rights from millions of U.S. citizens.

    For more information about the Brennan Center’s work on Restoring Voting Rights in Nebraska, please contact Connie Wu at wuc@brennan.law.nyu.edu.