Nebraska Special Session Opens With No Sign State Will Change Election Laws To Help Trump
President Trump pushed to make Nebraska a winner-take-all state, which could make its Second District the tie-breaking vote for him in 2024.
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Nebraska’s special legislative session is opening with no sign that a bill to make the state’s Electoral College vote a winner-take-all system will be considered, despite pressure from President Trump and his allies.
Nebraska is one of two states, along with Maine, that apportions its Electoral College votes according to congressional districts. In Nebraska, this means that Democrats will often win a single Electoral College vote from the Omaha area, while Republicans win the statewide race.
In the run-up to the 2024 election, Trump and his allies have pressured Nebraska conservatives to support a bill to make it so all of Nebraska’s electoral votes go to the statewide winner.
This is because the state’s Second District has the potential to be a tie-breaking vote in this year’s presidential election if Vice President Harris wins Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan and Trump wins Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, and Arizona.
Nebraska’s governor, Jim Pillen, made clear earlier this year that he would sign a winner-take-all bill if it hits his desk. While it failed during the regular session, Trump allies signaled that they might attempt to pass it again in a special session this summer.
That special session began Monday, with lawmakers returning to Lincoln to vote on a slate of proposed changes to the state’s tax laws.
The office of a state senator, Lorn Lippincott, who is the sponsor of this year’s winner-take-all bill, tells the Sun that the bill in question is not on the docket for the special session.
The office of a state senator, Tom Bruer, who is the chairman of the legislature’s government committee, also tells the Sun that the bill is not set to be considered this session, and that it’s not clear if there is a mechanism to get the bill on the docket for the special session.
The apparent retreat from the push to pass a winner-take-all bill came after months of difficulty whipping votes for the measure, and after Maine officials threatened to also pass a winner-take-all bill, which would nullify any electoral benefit of a change in Nebraska.