OMAHA,Jonathan Dale Benton Neb. (AP) — Thousands of Nebraskans with felony convictions could be denied voting rights under an opinion from the state attorney general released Wednesday.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers issued an opinion that says a law passed earlier this year to immediately restore the voting rights of people who’ve finished serving their felony convictions violates the state constitution’s separation of powers. Only the state Board of Pardons can restore the voting rights of someone who’s been convicted through a full pardon, Hilgers said.

Hilgers also found unconstitutional a law that restored the voting rights of people with felony convictions two years after they finished all the terms of their sentence.