A bill advanced to the full Legislature Thursday would give voting rights back to Nebraskans convicted of felonies immediately after they finish their sentences.Â
Members of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee voted 5-2 Thursday, with one member absent, to send LB20 out of committee.
The proposal, introduced by Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, would eliminate the current two-year waiting period for felons to regain their voting rights. The two years begin when a felon finishes prison and probation or post-release supervision.Â
Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, the committee chairman, voted for the measure, saying it gives people a chance to start again.
"You served your time, you paid your debt," he said.
But Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings voted against it, saying his concern is that about 25% of felons commit new crimes after their release and shouldn't have the right to vote.Â
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Nebraska is one of 11 states that do not allow felons to vote immediately upon completing their sentences. The state's current law was passed in 2005 over the veto of then-Gov. Dave Heineman, who called the automatic restoration of voting rights "unwise public policy and constitutionally suspect.'' The two-year waiting period was included as part of a compromise.
State lawmakers passed a Wayne-sponsored bill in 2017 to do away with the two-year wait, but the measure was vetoed by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts.
In his veto message, Ricketts said the bill violated the state constitution by assuming the power to pardon that properly belongs to the executive branch of government. He also argued that the two-year waiting period gives felons an incentive to maintain a clean record.
Paying the Price: An investigative series looking at Nebraska's prisons
Paying the Price: An investigative series looking at Nebraska's prisons
The World-Herald's occasional series on Nebraska's prison crisis begins with the the state’s nation-leading incarceration spike, and how past actions by lawmakers have played a role in that growth.
Nebraska locks up people of color at higher rates than the U.S. as a whole. The gaps between its low White incarceration rate and high rates for racial minorities are among the widest in the country.
Anthony Washington now sees his devotion to his gang as a “false idolization†that helped steer him to prison.
When Shakur Abdullah speaks to prison inmates who are preparing to transition back to society, he counsels them not to give up hope they can turn their lives around.
Omaha police have worked hand in hand with affected communities to employ all-new tactics, including a beefed-up gang specialty unit, shot detection technology and enhanced rewards for tips.
Nebraska's tough 2009 law sent offenders to a state prison cell instead of a federal one. Besides the cost to Nebraska taxpayers, the shift meant inmates were better able to keep local gang ties.