LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A Nebraska state senator has moved to override Gov. Pete Ricketts’ veto of a bill that would allow people convicted of felonies to vote two years earlier.
Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, who sponsored the bill to allow felons to vote immediately after finishing their sentences, filed the motion Tuesday. He says Ricketts’ veto was an “overtly political action” that will continue to suppress voters.
Wayne says laws preventing felons from voting stem from attempts to disenfranchise black Americans after the Civil War.
Ricketts said in a letter to lawmakers that the bill could violate the Nebraska constitution by creating the equivalent of a legislative pardon.
Overturning a veto requires 30 votes, and the bill had between 27 and 32 votes during its three readings.
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