Nebraska state Sen. Mike McDonnell, a Democrat-turned-Republican, said he won’t support switching the state’s electoral vote process to winner-take-all, denying a critical vote needed to implement the change. McDonnell said he clarified his stance to Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen. He also suggested that the Republicans pursuing the change go for a referendum as a proposed constitutional amendment, so voters can decide the issue “once and for all” on the ballot.
Nebraska and Maine are the only states that do not use a winner-take-all system for electoral votes. In Nebraska, two of the five electoral votes go to the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote, while the remaining three are awarded to the winners of each of the state’s three congressional districts.
Maine Democrats had threatened to switch to winner-take-all if Nebraska went through with the change. But they ran past a deadline to implement a counter-move earlier this month.
