Former President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders lauded Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s eleventh-hour efforts on Wednesday to advocate for the passage of a bill that aims to modify the state’s electoral system. The proposed changes are intended to increase the level of difficulty for President Joe Biden in securing re-election.
Nebraska and Maine stand out from the other states as they do not adhere to the winner-takes-all system for electoral votes. In the case of Nebraska, two out of the five electoral votes are allocated to the presidential nominee who secures the majority of votes at the statewide level. Simultaneously, the remaining three electoral votes are distributed to the victors of each of the state’s three congressional districts, which typically lean towards the Democratic party.
Republicans have long been attempting to modify the system ever since it received approval from the Legislature in 1991. However, their efforts have been consistently thwarted, either through veto by a Democratic governor or by the bills failing to progress beyond the committee stage.
“It would bring Nebraska into line with 48 of our fellow states, better reflect the founders’ intent, and ensure our state speaks with one unified voice in presidential elections,” Pillen said in a statement. “I call upon fellow Republicans in the Legislature to pass this bill to my desk so I can sign it into law.”
GOP state Senator Julie Slama took action on Wednesday by filing an amendment to an unrelated bill in an effort to revive the electoral vote legislation. The bill had hit a roadblock in the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee after its original sponsor, state Senator Loren Lippincott, revealed that he only had 25 out of the required 33 votes to overcome a filibuster. This information was reported by The Lincoln Journal Star.
In a statement to ABC News on Wednesday, Lippincott expressed his team’s dedication to exploring all possible avenues to bring this project to completion. However, he acknowledged the challenging reality of working within a tight two-day timeframe.
With less than a week remaining in this year’s legislative session and the Cornhusker Legislature’s party mix (32 Republicans, 15 registered Democrats, and one nonpartisan progressive), the bill still lacks enough support to overcome the anticipated filibuster.
However, such chances do not deter Trump from encouraging Pillen and the state senators to do “the right thing.”
“Governor Jim Pillen of Nebraska, a very smart and popular governor who has done some really great things, came out today with a very strong letter in support of returning Nebraska’s Electoral votes to a winner-take-All system,” Trump stated in an interview with Truth Social. “Most Nebraskans have long wanted to return to this system because it is what 48 other states use, it is what the Founders intended, and it is appropriate for Nebraska.” Thank you, Governor, for your strong leadership. Let us hope the Senate does the right thing.
State Senator Pete Ricketts and other Republican leaders are hopeful that Sen. Mike McDonnell’s transition from Democrat to Republican will give him the one vote required to make legislation filibuster-proof against the Democratic opposition. The state Democratic Party censured McDonnell in March for his pro-life views and support for a ban on gender-affirming medical care, leading him to join the Republican Party.
“The addition of Mike McDonnell to the Republican rolls in the legislature means for the first time in recent memory there is a filibuster-proof Republican majority in the United States,” Ricketts stated in a statement released on Wednesday. “The timing heading into a presidential election is an awesome opportunity to mobilize our Republican majority to a winner-take-all system and put one more electoral vote in the Republican column for 2024!”
The Legislature will most likely return to consider the proposal late Wednesday evening or Thursday.
