OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Nebraska State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha again introducedLegislative Bill 20 to restore convicted Nebraska felons' right to vote as soon as their term is up.
Currently, there's a two-year waiting period.
Wayne argues it's about more than the right to vote.
"Study after study shows that when people come out of prison and they're engaged in their community, they're less likely to re-offend," Wayne said.
He said that drives down the re-offender rate, "which is one of the big things we have to do to not only solve our (prison) overcrowding problem, but also just get people right re-engaged in our community."
Wayne's bill passed the legislature before. In 2017, then-Gov. Pete Ricketts didn't sign the bill and an attempt to override the veto failed.
"While the rehabilitation of criminals is an important goal of the criminal justice system, the immediate restoration of voting rights is not the answer," Ricketts said at the time.
He argued the bill would require a state constitutional amendment.
A related bill introduced at the start of the new legislative session would seek an amendment to the state constitution through the approval of voters. Under the legislation re-introduced by State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, felons in Nebraska would never lose the ability to vote.
Jasmine Harris, the public policy director at RISE, a group that assists incarcerated people with re-integration, supports both bills.
"With (the current) policy, people can be on parole for five years in the community with jobs being productive, doing everything right, and still don't have that right to vote. And then there's still an extra two years," she said.
Wayne believes "people have came around on the issue."
"A lot more of our my conservative colleagues believe that when your punishment is up, your punishment should be up," Wayne said.
A spokesperson for Gov. Jim Pillen did not respond to a request for comment Friday on if he might support the bill should it pass the legislature again.
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