Remember when good news wasn’t as rare as a functioning printer on the first try? Well, Nebraska just gave us a small miracle: good news. Yep, that Nebraska—the one known for corn and college football. Good news is back, Baby!
Nebraska just restored voting rights to over 7,000 former felons. That’s right, the state’s two-year waiting period after completing sentences? It’s now history, like landlines and Blockbuster. This isn’t just a step forward; it’s a leap—like the leap your Wi-Fi makes when it finally connects after 30 minutes of buffering.
Let’s get real here. Voting isn’t just some boring civic duty like jury duty or remembering to pay your parking tickets. Voting is the glue that holds this messy thing called democracy together. Telling someone who’s done their time that they can’t vote is like handing someone an ‘all-you-can-eat buffet’ pass and then locking the door. They’ve paid their dues—let them back into the damn buffet of democracy! It’s not just a legal roadblock, it’s a moral one. It says, “Oh, you’re still not fully one of us, sorry.” But the whole point of rehabilitation is to make people full citizens again, people who can walk into a polling station, punch their ballots, and say, “Yeah, I had a say in that.”
Nebraska’s saying, loud and clear: “You served your time? Cool, here’s your right to vote back—immediately.” And honestly, it’s refreshing—like stumbling across a season of a show you forgot was in your streaming queue.
Okay, now let’s talk about felony disenfranchisement because, spoiler alert, it has a nasty backstory. These laws didn’t just materialize out of nowhere—they’ve been around as long as white dudes with wigs signing documents. After the Civil War, Southern states thought, “Hey, how can we stop Black people from voting now that slavery is over?” The answer: felony disenfranchisement. Criminalizing things like loitering and vagrancy—basically just existing while Black—ensured newly freed African Americans wouldn’t get near the ballot box. And this, my friends, is why we can’t have nice things.
Fast-forward to today, and guess what? These same disenfranchisement laws are still disproportionately screwing over Black and brown communities, like some racist boomerang that keeps circling back. Right now, over 4 million Americans won’t be able to vote in the 2024 election because of felony convictions. That’s like the population of Oregon being told, “Yeah, democracy is happening, but it’s BYOV—Bring Your Own Vote—and sorry, you’re not on the guest list.”
This is where Nebraska’s decision becomes huge. It’s like the state decided to go all “plot twist” on us while other states are trying to make voting rights as elusive as finding a free public bathroom in New York City. Enter Donald Trump, who, in this Shakespearean-level irony, in many states could be excluded from voting because—wait for it—he’s now a convicted felon. That’s right: Nebraska’s out here restoring voting rights to thousands of former felons, while Trump, who’s literally running for president, would not be able to vote for himself if he were a voter in certain states. We’re talking next-level ridiculousness here. (We can save the discussion about whether a convicted felon should actually BE the Republican nominee a different day.)
But back to Nebraska, because they’re the MVP of this story. Rehabilitation isn’t just about stopping someone from doing crimey stuff again—it’s about making them part of society, fully. Voting is like the ultimate comeback move in this game. It’s saying, “You’re not just a former felon; you’re a citizen with full rights again.” Telling someone they’re rehabilitated and then blocking them from voting is like giving someone an iPhone but refusing to give them the charger. What’s the point?
This isn’t Nebraska going rogue, though. Over the last few decades, 26 other states have gotten the memo and made similar moves to restore voting rights for former felons. It’s like a growing trend—like oat milk lattes, but, you know, with more democracy. Nebraska’s saying, “Hey, we’re not just giving you your life back, we’re giving you the ability to shape your future. Get out there and vote.”
Let’s not forget—history shows us that when more people vote, democracy works better. The more voices in the conversation, the better the final decision. Right now, more people are disenfranchised in U.S. territories than there were in the original 13 colonies. Yes, you read that right: there are more people who can’t vote today in places like Puerto Rico than were around to sign the Declaration of Independence. If that doesn’t scream “We need to fix this,” I don’t know what does.
So, Nebraska? You just became the surprise hero in a time when we need all the good news we can get. They restored voting rights to thousands of people, and that’s something to celebrate—no matter which box you check on the ballot. And let’s be real: when more people can vote, democracy gets stronger, and that’s a win for all of us.
Well done, Nebraska—no matter how you vote, you’re finally letting people back in the game.
