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Former President Donald Trump addresses guests at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin on April 2, 2024.
CNN
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Former President Donald Trump and his allies are ramping up pressure on the Nebraska Legislature to change the way the state distributes electoral votes, an effort that will continue in November with President Joe Biden. The rematch highlights just how close the contest for 270 electoral votes is.
Under the proposed changes, the state would move to a winner-take-all system, instead of the current system that divides electors between statewide winners and congressional district winners. The proposal appeared to have little traction until a last-minute push by a prominent Republican congressman brought national attention to the change.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk launched the effort on Tuesday, sending a call to action to Nebraska Republicans on social media. Hours later, Republican Gov. Jim Pillen voiced his support for the reform, although he had not made it a priority during his first 15 months in office.
Trump discussed Truth Social and said he supports the change.
“Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, a very smart and popular governor who has done some really great things, today announced his extraordinary support for returning Nebraska’s electoral votes to a winner-take-all system. ,” the former president said. I have written. “Most Nebraskans have wanted to return to this system for a long time because that’s what the other 48 states are doing, that’s the founding intent, and that’s what’s right for Nebraska. Thank you, Governor, for your bold leadership. Let’s hope the Senate does the right thing. Nebraskans, please respectfully ask your senators to support this great bill. ”
Nebraska’s law, which divides the state’s electors by congressional district, had not been the subject of serious debate in Congress this year and was not a priority for Pillen until Trump allies launched a pressure campaign on Tuesday. Ta.
The sudden action, which caught Nebraska Republicans by surprise, comes just two weeks before the state Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on April 18.
The Assembly Speaker, Republican Sen. John Arch, appeared to be closing the door on tackling the issue this year.
“Nebraska’s first chamber has a process,” Arch said in a statement Wednesday. “This includes introducing bills, committee hearings on each bill, and prioritizing the session’s agenda by committees and individual members of Congress. LB 764 was not prioritized and remains in committee. “You cannot schedule a bill that is still in committee.”
Whether pressure from the governor or the public can change his views remains an open question.
Lawmakers began a lively debate Wednesday night at the state Capitol in Lincoln over whether the winner-take-all bill should be attached to another bill for formal consideration, a move that critics said could lead to a filibuster. It becomes a procedural move that opens the door to sexuality.
“If you realize you can’t win with the current rules, are you going to go back to square one and change the rules so you can win?” said Sen. Jen Day, D-Omaha.
Congress is technically nonpartisan, but political lines became clearer as debate dragged on Wednesday night. Several lawmakers who spoke out against the proposal said there was nothing to prevent Trump from winning the Omaha district, and that Trump has the same opportunity as Biden to make his case to voters. He said that there is.
“Come and steal the electorate from Omaha,” said Sen. Megan Hunt, an independent from Omaha. “Now, come and earn some money.”
Nebraska and Maine are the only two states in the country that allocate their electors by congressional district, and in 2020, Biden won one vote from the red state Nebraska and Trump won one vote from the blue state. It is an unusual system in which the candidate receives one vote from the state of Maine. .
Despite the last-minute fuss, getting legislation through the 11 court is notoriously difficult.th In Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature, the only unicameral government, Democratic lawmakers told CNN that the filibuster would be activated if Republicans pushed through with the electoral college bill.
“Nebraskas want to maintain a fair election system, which is why previous attempts by some Republicans over the past 30 years to They could not reverse the division.” “We are proud of our unique electoral voting system and know the economic benefits it creates by giving our state national importance.”
There are only two days left in the session until the new bill is submitted. The proposal’s sponsor, state Sen. Lauren Lippincott, previously indicated that she did not have enough votes to pass the proposal.
“Essentially, the committee is probably at an impasse at this point,” Lippincolt told the Lincoln Journal Star on Tuesday. “I don’t want to report it, but it’s the truth.”
Republicans have previously attempted to repeal the law but failed. The current proposal has been held up in committee since 2023 without enough votes for a full vote and received little discussion this year until allies of President Trump began pushing for changes this week.
The Biden campaign has been focused on Omaha and its single electorate for weeks.
Biden’s blue walls in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania have been talked about, but even if he wins all three states, he may still be 270 electoral votes short. In the 2020 census, the maps were changed based on population declines in Pennsylvania and Michigan, so if there was a 269-269 tie with Trump, one of Nebraska’s three electors would lose one of Nebraska’s three electors. potentially important.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
