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    Eligible Nebraska residents with criminal records register to vote

    Online Niel Posted on

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    LINCOLN – Jason Kotas of Omaha did something most Americans take for granted: He registered to vote. While voter registration may seem routine to many, Kotas and about 7,000 other Nebraskans have almost been unable to do so because of their felony records.

    With a little more than a week until Election Day, Nebraska residents who have been previously convicted of felonies — and have completed their sentences — now have until Friday, Nov. 1, to register to vote. This deadline follows an 11th hour decision on October 16 by the highest court of the state after rejecting claims by Secretary of State Robert Evnen, a Republican, that the law passed in April violated the state constitution and ordering him to implement it immediately.

    Kotas, who completed his parole in 2022, expressed relief that he was able to go to the polls in November.

    “I was looking forward to this year because I was going to be able to vote. I was excited about it and then it was kind of taken away from me, like out of nowhere,” Kotas said. “It just blew my mind for a second.”

    Two Nebraskans with criminal records, represented by The American Civil Liberties Union sued Evnen after announcing in July that he was directing election officials to prevent residents with criminal records from voting. Before a new law was passedNebraska has for two decades allowed residents convicted of felonies to vote two years after serving their sentence.

    After the recent court ruling, attorneys across the state are now racing against the clock to register voters in person as the Friday deadline approaches.

    The final sprint

    While the court deliberated, voting rights advocates were preparing to hit the ground running once a ruling was issued.

    Civic Nebraska, an advocacy group, mailed about 6,000 letters before the court’s decision. Since Oct. 16, they’ve knocked on more than 125 doors of newly eligible voters and sent at least 2,000 text messages, according to Steve Smith, director of communications for Civic Nebraska.

    “This is not a partisan effort to try to get one party to the polls more than the others,” Smith said. “This is about a fundamental American right that has been wrongfully taken away by the unilateral action of an executive branch. That’s the effect it’s having right now on the field as we hustle, as we run on the treadmill.”

    “We’re going to do the best we can with the time we have,” Smith said.

    Advocates reach people all over the state, but since most newly eligible Nebraskans live in the Omaha metro area, that’s where a lot of the canvassing energy goes, according to Smith.

    It’s also the district that could deliver a back-to-back electoral vote to each presidential candidate because of the state’s split vote. Two of its five electoral votes go to the candidate with the most votes, while three are awarded to the winners of the contest. the state’s three congressional districts.

    Although the Cornhusker State is deep red, 2nd Congressional District went to Democrats twice, including former President Barack Obama in 2008 and President Joe Biden in 2020, coining the term “blue dot”.

    Jasmine Harris, director of public policy and advocacy for RISE, a Nebraska nonprofit that provides support for post-sentence reentry, said that after much confusion and waiting, Nebraskans with criminal records are relieved to be able to vote in elections. this year.

    “It was just a lot of confusion and scare tactics, or whatever was used, and just having that from the courts, I think, gives people a moment of relief and the ability to sigh and move on to the next registration point and vote. Harris said.

    RISE and Civic Nebraska have boots on the ground, but Harris noted the challenges in completing those registrations, including the tight window and limitations that come with in-person registration.

    While some organizations, such as the Malcolm X Foundation of Omaha, offer rides to county election offices for newly eligible voters, some still face registration barriers, including aligning work schedules when the offices are open.

    But Harris is still encouraging those Nebraskans to get out and vote.

    “There are a lot of people who always say, ‘I don’t vote because my vote doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter.’ And what I want people to know is that it actually absolutely matters,” Harris said. “It absolutely matters. Because if it wasn’t, they wouldn’t be trying to keep taking it and keeping it away from people.”

    Kotas, who is now a re-entry specialist at RISE, says he looks forward to going to the polls with his wife on Election Day. Hey says that while he’s excited to vote for personal reasons, he also sees the ability to do so as a step in the right direction of integrating those with criminal records back into communities.

    “How do we continue to restore people to their dignity?” Kotes asked. Can’t we let people come here and change their lives and still be told there are certain things they can’t do and they’ve already done everything they’ve been convicted of?”

    Reuters contributed reporting to this story

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