In an attempt to score former President Donald Trump one more electoral vote, Nebraska Republican lawmakers are seeking to turn the state into a winner-take-all voting system, but Maine Democrats said if Nebraska does that, they would make the same move to help President Joe Biden.
Maine and Nebraska are the only states that award their electoral votes based on which candidate wins in each congressional district. The move by Nebraska GOP lawmakers is an attempt to prevent Biden from earning an Electoral College vote by winning the state’s Omaha district, which he did in 2020. If successful, this strategy would shut down Biden’s easiest path to victory, entailing a win in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and winning Nebraska’s 2nd District.
The bill has been stalled in the legislature, but it’s prompted Maine Democrats to also pursue a winner-take-all system, thus losing Trump an electoral vote.
On Friday, Maine’s state House majority leader, Maureen Terry, said in a statement that Democrats, who hold a majority in the legislature, would “be compelled to act in order to restore fairness” if Nebraska Republicans are successful with their measure.
“Voters in Maine and voters in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District value their independence, but they also value fairness and playing by the rules,” Terry said. “If Nebraska’s Republican governor and Republican-controlled Legislature were to change their electoral system this late in the cycle in order to unfairly award Donald Trump an additional electoral vote, I think the Maine Legislature would be compelled to act in order to restore fairness to our country’s electoral system.”
Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen encouraged the legislature to have a special session in order to pass the bill through.
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“I am steadfast in my commitment to get winner-take-all over the finish line, thereby honoring our constitutional founding, unifying our state and ending the three-decade-old mistake of allocating Nebraska’s electoral votes differently than all but one other state,” Pillen said.
Both Nebraska and Maine’s legislature have already adjourned. This means Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, would have to call lawmakers into a special session in order to counteract Nebraska Republicans’ plans.
