The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the secretary of state must allow convicted felons to register to vote immediately after completing their sentences, Axios reported. This is part of a broader push by Democrats to allow criminals to cast ballots.
The Cornhusker State previously allowed felons to register to vote after a two-year waiting period following the end of their sentences. However, the state legislature passed a bill earlier this year abolishing the waiting period.
Although it was passed as a bipartisan effort, Secretary of State Robert Evnen put the brakes on the liberalization of the rules as he believed it to be unconstitutional on the advice of Attorney General Mike Hilgers. To rectify the situation, Evnen barred county officials from registering convicted felons unless they had been pardoned.
The Nebraska Supreme Court did not agree and lifted Evnen's order. "The Secretary is ordered to remove any disqualification on registration he has imposed that is not contained within L.B. 20 and to comply in all respects with the provisions of L.B. 20," the ruling said.
This decision came down with less than three weeks to go in a very contentious presidential election. The impacted voters, estimated to be about 7,000 felons, will have to contend with tight deadlines to cast their ballots.
In-person registration runs until Oct. 25, but the online option is open until Oct. 18. This could be an important development as Nebraska splits its electoral votes in such a way that any additional voters could sway the race.
Previous studies have shown that ex-convicts are four times as likely to register as Democrats or have no affiliation at all than their law-abiding counterparts. With the state awarding one electoral vote to the winner in each congressional district, three of the state's five votes are up for grabs for Democrats, the New York Times reported.
This could be significant in the race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Notably, the state's Second District, which includes the capital city of Omaha, went for President Joe Biden in the 2020 race.
The candidate with the most statewide votes receives the remaining two electoral votes, which are typically cast for the Republican in a crimson state. Even if this rule doesn't sway the 2024 race, it sets up a framework that could pay off for Democrats in 2028.
Democrats have no scruples when it comes to making sure they win elections by hook or by crook. One of their many tactics includes allowing criminals to vote.
There are varying levels of restrictions on felons voting in 48 states, with only Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia having none at all. Democrats have tried to nationalize a standard to allow criminals to vote and even proposed a law to do just that.
According to Reuters, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) proposed the Inclusive Democracy Act in December 2023. "The right to vote is sacred in America and it's essential to citizenship, and all citizens deserve a voice in our democracy," Pressley said at the time.
"There is resistance. We know that," Welch chimed in. The bill has gone nowhere with the current narrow GOP majority in Congress and lead in the Senate, but it's not an issue that Democrats will give up on easily.
While it's true that people who have served their time have paid their debt to society, it's a bridge too far to give them blanket voting rights. Criminals have proven that they don't respect the laws of the land, and giving them the right to influence those laws is ludicrous.
