Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is leading a delegation for Donald Trump to Nebraska, where the senator is making a last-ditch effort to convince a critical mass of the state’s Republican lawmakers to change how Nebraska awards Electoral College votes, a shift that could turn the state into a winner-takes-all situation.
Unlike most states, Nebraska splits up all five of its Electoral College votes — two go to the winner of the popular vote in the state and the other three are split up among Nebraska’s three congressional districts and are awarded to whoever wins the popular vote in each district. Maine is the only other state with a similarly unusual method of allotting votes. The revived push by Trump allies to convince Nebraska to change its system is a pellucid attempt to prevent Vice President Kamala Harris from winning the Electoral College vote from the state’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes the city of Omaha. Democrats were awarded a vote in 2008 and 2020 for winning the popular vote in that district.
Trump allies, led by far-right online provocateur Charlie Kirk, already attempted to change the way Nebraska divvies up votes earlier this year, when President Biden was running for reelection. But Republicans in the state legislature failed to pass the bill that would’ve made the switch.
Republicans are clearly nervous about Harris carrying the Omaha-based district in November — her running mate Tim Walz, who was born near Omaha, held a jam-packed rally there last month — which could help her secure the presidency. The stakes are high, per The Hill:
If Harris loses Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Nevada, she could still win the presidency by winning the other states won by President Biden in 2020 — as long as she also wins the single electoral vote from Nebraska’s 2nd District. This would give her exactly 270 electoral votes.
Graham reportedly made a trip to Nebraska this week, at the request of Nebraska GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen, who are both supportive of the change. Similarly, Republican members of Congress from Nebraska put out a letter on Wednesday calling on lawmakers back home to bring the bill back up for consideration before the election.
“As members of Nebraska’s federal delegation in Congress, we are united in our support for apportioning all five of the Nebraska’s electoral votes in presidential elections according to the winner of the whole state,” the letter, addressed to Pillen and Nebraska Speaker of the Legislature John Arch, said. “It is past time that Nebraska join 48 other states in embracing winner-take-all in presidential elections.”
Speaking to reporters on Thursday after his meeting with Pillen and Ricketts, Graham said he was hopeful his efforts to resuscitate the previously-failed effort would be fruitful.
“The whole fate of the country and the world could hinge on one electoral vote,” he told reporters, according to CBS News. “I hope the people in Nebraska will understand this may come down to a single electoral vote. And I just don’t believe a Harris presidency is good for Nebraska.”
Pillen is reportedly willing to bring lawmakers back for a special session to try to pass the bill again before Election Day, per CBS:
“As I have also made clear, I am willing to convene the Legislature for a special session to fix this 30-year-old problem before the 2024 election,” the governor said, though he noted that he must first receive indication that there’s enough support among state senators. Early voting in Nebraska begins on Oct. 1, but the secretary of state said a switch to a winner-take-all system could be implemented anytime before Election Day on Nov. 5, according to a report from KOLN.
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