CBS News
The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a top election official had no authority to declare unconstitutional a state law that restored the voting rights of those who have been convicted of a felony, issuing a decision with implications for the upcoming election.
In July, Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen ordered county election officials to reject voter registrations of those with felony convictions, citing an opinion by Attorney General Mike Hilgers. That opinion, which Evnen had requested, deemed as unconstitutional a law passed this year by the Legislature immediately restoring the voting rights of people who have completed the terms of their felony sentences.
Evnen’s order could have prevented 7,000 or more Nebraska residents from voting in the upcoming election, the American Civil Liberties Union said. Many of them reside in Nebraska’s Omaha-centered 2nd Congressional District, where both the race for president and Congress could be in play.
READ THE FULL STORY
