Nebraska’s secretary of state is challenging the conclusions of an ACLU of Nebraska survey that questioned county election officials’ knowledge of voting rights for former felons. Secretary of State John Gale said the question asked in the survey done by volunteers might not have been consistent across all counties. None of the eight counties contacted by his office Tuesday could remember getting a phone call in the past month from someone from ACLU of Nebraska, he said. But Tyler Richard, spokesman for the ACLU, said the volunteers did not identify themselves as calling for the ACLU. And they asked a standardized question to all counties: “Can a former felon register to vote?”
The survey done between May 27 and June 6 showed nearly half of the county election officials contacted provided inaccurate information related to voting rights for people with felony convictions, the organization said.
State law allows a convicted felon to register to vote two years after completing all of the terms of a sentence, which include parole and probation. The voting disqualification is automatically removed by court order at such time.
Surveyors said 47 of the state’s 93 counties did not give accurate information. Additional counties initially provided wrong information but followed up with correct information.
Full Article: Secretary of state questions ACLU survey | Regional Government | journalstar.com.