Nebraska Supreme Court rules to allow convicted felons to vote

The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled in favor of allowing convicted felons to register to vote once they serve their sentences after finding amendments filed against this practice to be "unconstitutional."

"Because the requisite number of judges have not found that the statutory amendments are unconstitutional, we issue a peremptory writ of mandamus directing the Secretary and the election commissioners to implement the statutory amendments immediately," the court wrote in its order.

A "peremptory writ of mandamus" is a writ that a high court issues when it wants a lower court to overturn its decision without the ability for it to file amendments or appeals.

Prior to 2005, Nebraska citizens convicted of felonies could not register to vote. As of that date, they could do so two years after they finished serving their sentence.

In April of this year, a bipartisan group of senators pushed an initiative to allow citizens convicted of felonies to register to vote on completion of their sentence.

The measure was opposed by Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen on the grounds that the state attorney general said the rule was unconstitutional. He filed an amendment in July that has not been accepted by the Nebraska Supreme Court, which may result in votes in favor of candidates who enact softer laws on crime.