OMAHA, Neb. — With only a few months left before a highly contested presidential election, Nebraska’s Republican governor wants state lawmakers to approve a “winner-take-all” system for awarding Electoral College votes.
“It would bring Nebraska in line with 48 other states, better reflect the founders’ intent, and ensure our state speaks with one unified voice in presidential elections,” Gov. Jim Pillen said in a statement on Tuesday. “I urge fellow Republicans in the Legislature to pass this bill so I can sign it into law.”
Nebraska and Maine are the only states that divide their electoral votes by congressional district, and both have tried to switch to a winner-take-all system without success.
In Nebraska, Republicans have struggled to change to a winner-take-all system since Barack Obama won one of the state’s five electoral votes in 2008. The same happened in 2020, when President Joe Biden won Nebraska’s 2nd District electoral vote.
In the 2016 presidential election, one of Maine’s four electoral votes went to former President Donald Trump. Now, Maine Republicans are against a proposal to abandon its split system and join a multistate compact that would allocate all its electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote for president, even if it conflicts with Maine’s popular vote.
A spokesperson for Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills said the governor has not indicated whether she’ll sign the bill, which was approved Wednesday in the Maine Senate. But even if it’s signed, it would be on hold until other states approve the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
Nebraska Republicans have faced challenges in changing the current system, mostly because the state’s unique one-chamber Legislature requires 33 votes to pass any contested bill. Republicans currently hold 32 seats, but one Democrat — Omaha Sen. Mike McDonnell — announced on Wednesday that he is switching his party affiliation to Republican. McDonnell mentioned his censure by the Nebraska Democratic Party for supporting abortion restrictions last year.
The party criticized Pillen’s effort to change the split electoral vote system and encouraged residents to sign a petition supporting it.
“Nebraskans want to keep our fair electoral system in place which is why previous attempts by some Republicans over the last thirty years have failed to undo our split electoral votes,” party chair Jane Kleeb said in a statement. “We are proud of our unique electoral vote system and know all too well the economic benefits it generates with a national focus on our state.”
Despite Pillen’s call to pass a winner-take-all change, it seems unlikely that Nebraska lawmakers would have time to get the bill out of committee, much less advance it through three rounds of debate, with only six days left in the current session. Some Nebraska lawmakers acknowledged as much.
“I'm reporting live from the front lines — don't fret, we're not eliminating our unique electoral system in Nebraska,” Sen. Megan Hunt wrote on X late Tuesday. “We simply don't have enough time for it legislatively. Nothing to be concerned about this year.”
Speaker of the Legislature Sen. John Arch also confirmed this on Wednesday afternoon, explaining that under Nebraska’s legislative process, “I cannot schedule a bill that is still in committee.”
