Nebraska Supreme Court Rules That Felons May Vote

The court ordered the Nebraska Secretary of State to implement a recent Nebraska provision making former felons eligible to vote.

The Nebraska Supreme Court released its decision in the case Spung v. Evnen on Wednesday. The plaintiffs, represented by members of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in cooperation with Civic Nebraska, alleged that Secretary of State Robert Evnen’s refusal to allow felons who served their sentence and parole to vote was unconstitutional and a violation of state law. The court issued a peremptory writ of mandamus, ordering the secretary of state and a pair of county election commissioners to accept voter registration applications from former felons. 

The court’s opinion determined that Evnen’s challenges to two Nebraska statutory amendments, LB 20 and LB 53, did not sufficiently demonstrate that these provisions were unconstitutional.