When the Nebraska Legislature voted 38 to 6 this year to allow people convicted of felonies to cast a ballot immediately after completing their sentences, it was a moment of bipartisan unity.
That moment did not last.
Just before the measure was set to take effect last month, the state’s Republican attorney general, Mike Hilgers, issued a written opinion that the law was unconstitutional.
He did not stop there.
Mr. Hilgers added that a law on the books since 2005, allowing felons to vote two years after finishing their sentences, was also based on a flawed interpretation of the Nebraska Constitution.
In the weeks since, people convicted of crimes and election administrators have been caught in legal limbo.
Had thousands of former criminals been wrongly allowed to vote for 19 years, as the attorney general argued, or were potential new voters being unfairly blocked from registering this year, as supporters of the new law claimed?
Hastily scheduled arguments held in front of the Nebraska Supreme Court on Wednesday are the best hope of settling those questions before Election Day, when Nebraska’s vote could carry special import because of the way the state splits its Electoral College votes by congressional district.
This year, the bipartisan Nebraska Legislature came together to vote 38 to 6 in favor of allowing felons to vote as soon as their sentences are up.
The moment was fleeting.
The state’s Republican attorney general, Mike Hilgers, declared in writing that the law was unconstitutional just before it was scheduled to go into effect last month. There was more from him. A law that has been in place since 2005 and permits felons to vote two years after serving their sentences, according to Mr. Hilgers, was also based on an incorrect reading of the Nebraska Constitution.
Those found guilty of crimes and election administrators have found themselves in legal limbo in the weeks since. The attorney general argued that thousands of ex-offenders had been wrongfully allowed to vote for 19 years; supporters of the new law contended that potential new voters were being unfairly prevented from registering to vote this year.
The best chance of answering those questions before Election Day, when Nebraska’s vote could have extra significance due to the state’s Electoral College vote distribution by congressional district, is to hold hurried arguments before the Nebraska Supreme Court on Wednesday.
