Despite pressure from former President Donald Trump, an attempt to fundamentally alter the way that Nebraska distributes its electoral votes failed during a procedural vote on Wednesday - keeping a possible path open for President Joe Biden to secure another term in November.
Following social media posts from Trump, Governor Jim Pillen and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, the state's unicameral legislature was prepared to consider switching to a winner-takes-all system in future presidential elections, instead of distributing some of its votes based on Congressional districts.
Under the current system, many pundits believe that Democrats could take one electoral vote - from the more progressive Omaha suburbs - in an otherwise reliably red state. In an especially tight election year this could make the difference between a victory and a loss for Biden
While the bill, first introduced by State Senator Loren Lippincott, was unlikely to pass on its own before the end of the legislative session on April 18, Republican State Senator Julie Slama proposed adding the bill's text as an amendment to existing legislation.
Ultimately, the amendment failed 36-8, in a procedural vote, with legislators arguing that it wasn't relevant enough to the bill it was tacked onto.
Slama criticized fellow Republicans on the floor of the legislature, shortly before the voting commenced - telling her colleagues that she could "read the writing on the wall."
"If you're going to tweet out on an issue, if you're gonna put out press releases on an issue and try to pressure the legislature to do something, maybe when the concept actually comes up and people are voting on it, maybe you all should do the work," she said.
After the vote failed she also wrote on social media that the bill "won't come up for a vote again."
"I know that's what was promised, but there are no vehicles on which it could attach. Winner Takes All isn't moving in 2024."
Nebraska and Maine are the only states that don't allocate electoral votes through a winner-takes-all system. Rather, the Cornhusker State gives two of its electoral votes to whomever wins the state's presidential election, while allocating the other three based on which candidate wins in each Congressional district. Nebraska is a reliably red state but Omaha and its suburbs voted blue in 2008 and 2020.
Many pundits believe that the Omaha suburbs could end up playing a crucial role in November - particularly if Biden loses in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada. Kirk raised this point in his initial social media post, which was then shared by Trump and endorsed by Pillen.
"California would never do this. New York would never do this. And as long as that's the case, neither should we," Kirk posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
In addition to raising questions about the amendment's relevancy, during the Wednesday debates, some legislators also defended the system itself.
"By dividing its electoral votes, Nebraska forces candidates to engage with constituents across the state, listening to their concerns and crafting policies that resonate with a broader spectrum of the population," said Democratic State Senator Jen Day. "Doesn't that sound great?"
