- Maine's top Democratic Party has proposed changes to the state's election law in opposition to Nebraska.
- Nebraska Republicans in early April called for changes to the way the state allocates electoral votes.
- The move was supported by Trump in a state where Biden was able to win one electoral vote in 2020.
Maine Democratic Party leaders said Friday that if Nebraska adjusts its rules to favor former President Donald Trump, the state would be forced to change its allocation of Electoral College delegates to a “winner-takes-all” system. I warned you that you wouldn't get it.
Maine House Majority Leader Maureen Terry said in a statement that voters in Maine and Nebraska's battleground 2nd Congressional District “value independence, but they also value fairness and adherence to rules. I attach great importance to it.”
“If Nebraska's Republican governor and Republican-controlled legislature were to change the election system this late in the election cycle to unfairly award additional electoral votes to Donald Trump, the Maine Legislature would “We will be forced to act to restore fairness to our country's electoral system,” she continued.
President Trump's comments come as Nebraska Republican Governor Jim Pillen announced that the state's electoral vote allocation system would be changed from a system in which the state's electoral votes were decided by congressional district to a system in which the state's overall winner would receive five electoral votes. This comes weeks after he touted his support for a bill that would change the law.
“I remain committed to achieving a winner-take-all goal at the finish line, thereby honoring our constitutional founding, unifying our state, and distributing Nebraska's electoral votes differently than all but one other state. Ending the 30-year-old mistake of apportioning.” the governor said Early this month.
Nebraska Democrats vigorously fought back against the election changes until the Legislature adjourned earlier this month, but the bill did not move forward. Piren hinted at the possibility of a special session to complete “other unfinished business”, including switching to a winner-take-all format. But so far, Republicans have fallen short of the 33 votes needed to pass the bill, and the governor has previously indicated he would not convene the Legislature unless he has the support needed to pass it.
Nebraska overwhelmingly supported Trump in statewide votes in 2016 and 2020 (part of a long-standing pattern for Republican presidential candidates), but in 2020 President Joe Biden will be based in Omaha. He won the 2nd Congressional District, securing one electoral vote.
The only other state in the country that distributes its electors by congressional district is Maine, where the political dynamics are reversed. Biden won the state's overall vote count by a wide margin, but Trump won the state's 2nd Congressional District and received one electoral vote.
Changes to election laws in either state would immediately raise the stakes in November's general election, which is expected to be a close race between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump.
In a scenario where Mr. Biden wins Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin but loses Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina — Mr. Biden has added all of the Democratic core states to his campaign column. Assuming that – he will win the Electoral College by at least 270 votes. 268.
If Nebraska carries through with its reforms, there is a strong possibility that Mr. Trump will gain a share of the state's electoral votes, given its strong Republican leanings. In the above scenario, there would be a 269-269 tie in the electorate, and the presidential election would go to the U.S. House of Representatives. However, if Maine also switched to a winner-take-all system before the 2024 election, Mr. Biden would have a significant advantage in winning all of the state's electors (270 to 268). Become.
Maine Democrats, who control the state Legislature, have generally not talked about adjusting the electoral allocation system for 2024.
However, the situation is very different now.
“It is my hope, and the hope of my colleagues in Maine, that the Nebraska Republican Party decides not to make this desperate and ill-fated attempt to sway the 2024 election,” Terry said.