LINCOLN – Jason Kotas of Omaha did something most Americans take for granted: he registered to vote. While voter registration may seem routine for many, Kotas and around 7,000 other Nebraskans almost didn’t get to do so this election because of their felony records.
With just over a week until Election Day, Nebraska residents who have prior felony convictions—and completed their sentence—now have until Friday, Nov. 1, to register to vote. This deadline follows an 11th-hour decision on Oct. 16 by the state’s highest court after rejecting claims by Secretary of State Robert Evnen, a Republican, that the law passed in April violated the state constitution and ordered him to implement it immediately.
Kotas, who finished his parole in 2022, expressed relief at being able to go to the polls in November.
“I’ve been looking forward to this year, because I was going to be able to vote. I’ve been excited about that, and then that was kind of taken from me, like just out of nowhere,” Kotas said. “It just kind of kicked the air out of me for a second.”