State legislators in Nebraska rejected a procedural motion that could have allowed a vote on changing how the Cornhusker State awards Electoral College votes.
Presently, Nebraska is one of only two states that do not award Electoral College votes on a “winner-take-all” basis; instead, it awards two electors to the overall winner and three more on a district-by-district basis. While the state tends to vote largely Republican, Joe Biden was able to secure and vote from the Omaha district in 2020.
Governor Jim Pillen backed proposals to move to a winner-take-all system after lobbying from Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who argued that Democrat-leaning states such as California and New York would never allow such a system.
Efforts to tack a vote on changing to a “winner-take-all” system to an unrelated bill were defeated by 8-36 on Wednesday night, however, despite the state lawmaker who moved the motion, Sen. Julie Slama, arguing it was “the last chance to pass winner-take-all this session.”
Opponents of Slama’s motion argued it broke state law, as it was not “germane” to the bill it was being attached to, though Slama countered by saying it was likely the courts would have backed her.
A standalone bill by Sen. Loren Lippincott remains before the state legislature, though it has been stalled in committee for more than a year and the legislative session for the year expires in only a few days.
Any vote on “winner-take-all” would also be vulnerable to filibustering.
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