Should Maine Tie the Fate of Its Unique Electoral Vote Distribution System to Nebraska?

Maine’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee held a public hearing Monday morning for a proposal concerning Maine’s unique method of distributing its electoral votes that would essentially hitch its wagon to whatever Nebraska does.

Maine and Nebraska are the only two states in the country that do not have a winner-take-all system for allocating their electoral college votes.

Instead, both states distribute them in accordance with their congressional districts, meaning that the winner in each House district is awarded an electoral vote, while the overall winner is given the two statewide electoral votes.

Currently, an effort is underway in Nebraska to do away with this system, first adopted there in 1996, more than twenty years after Maine pioneered it in 1972.

In recent years, Maine’s use of this system has allowed the predominately red second district a voice in an otherwise blue state, while the opposite has been true in Nebraska.

Nebraska’s second district is largely Democratic due to its inclusion of the City of Omaha, while the rest of Nebraska is known to lean Republican.

This new push to move toward a winner-take-all system in Nebraska has primarily been led by Republican lawmakers, including Gov. Jim Pillen (R-NE) and other GOP leaders in the state.

“I am steadfast in my commitment to get winner-take-all over the finish line, thereby honoring our constitutional founding, unifying our state and ending the three-decade-old mistake of allocating Nebraska’s electoral votes differently than all but one other state,” Gov. Pillen said in a social media post last April. “I will sign WTA (winner-take-all) into law the moment the Legislature gets it to my desk.”

President Donald Trump (R) has also expressed support for seeing Nebraska revert to a winner-take-all system.

“Most Nebraskans have wanted to go back to this system for a very long time, because it’s what 48 other States do – It’s what the Founders intended, and it’s right for Nebraska,” President Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social in early 2024. “Thank you Governor for your bold leadership. Let’s hope the Senate does the right thing.”

At the time, then House Majority Leader Maureen Terry (D-Gorham) vowed to follow suit and adopt a winner-take-all system as well if Nebraska went down that path, effectively neutralizing the impact that such a change in Nebraska could be expected to have on electoral vote totals.

“If Nebraska’s Republican Governor and Republican-controlled Legislature were to change their electoral system this late in the cycle in order to unfairly award Donald Trump an additional electoral vote, I think the Maine Legislature would be compelled to act in order to restore fairness to our country’s electoral system,” she said in a statement at the time. “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.”

State of Play in Nebraska

Earlier this month, another vote to adopt a winner-take-all system in Nebraska failed 31-18, where 33 votes were needed to overcome a filibuster, according to local news outlet WOWT.

Joining the Democratic minority in this vote were State Sens. Merv Riepe (R-Ralston) and Dave Wordekemper (R-Fremont).

Pillen issued a statement on X immediately following this vote, expressing disappointment with the state legislature’s decision.

“I am deeply disappointed that a minority of the Legislature defeated the will of the majority of their colleagues and, more importantly, the majority of Nebraskans by filibustering Winner-Take-All,” he wrote, in part. “WTA is supported by a substantial majority of the people’s representatives and should have received a fair up-or-down vote.”

“I continue to believe that it is critical to pass WTA to strengthen Nebraska’s voice in presidential elections,” Pillen added. There have been many efforts to fix it in the last 30 years, and I will continue to work with allies in the Legislature to get this done in time for the 2028 election.”

[RELATED: Maine Dems Move to Deny Northern Maine’s Presidential Vote]

A Mirror Image?

In Maine’s Monday morning public hearing, the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee sought input on LD 1356, which states that should Nebraska adopt a winner-take-all system, Maine would follow suit.

Rep. Adam Lee (D-Auburn), the bill’s sponsor, explained during Monday’s public hearing that this legislation is intended to serve as a deterrent to those in Nebraska hoping to alter the state’s method for allocating electoral votes, a position predicated on the assumption that this movement is largely, if not entirely, politically motivated.

In other words, it’s a 3D chess move.

“The people pushing to change Nebraska’s process to a winner-take-all system are out of state far-right activists whose only desire is to ensure that the second Nebraska congressional district, which is comprised primarily of Omaha, goes to a Republican presidential candidate,” he argued.

“We cannot ignore that we play a role in this political battle,” Rep. Lee continued. “We cannot ignore that the fate of our system is very much tied to the state of Nebraska’s. We cannot ignore that we are mirror images of each other, and the fact that our second district is a recently Republican-leaning district in a Democratic-leaning state, and that Nebraska’s second district is a Democratic-leaning district in a Republican-leaning state.”

Lee went on to push back against the criticism he has received in response to introducing this bill, noting that he himself represents a jurisdiction in the second district and has deep personal ties to the area.

“I did not vote for Donald Trump, but many of my neighbors did, and I strongly support our system that protects the will of the voters,” said Lee. “I think it is unfortunate that our system is under attack by national partisans who don’t care about our voices, our unique system, or us.”

Others who testified in support of this bill made similar arguments, framing the legislation as a means of protecting Maine’s unique distribution of its electoral college votes from future interference.

“We need to send a strong message to those seeking to meddle in Nebraska and by default here in Maine,” said Joann Mason of Readfield, Board President of the Family Violence Project in Augusta.

Mason went on to suggest that this legislation is the “best way we can protect our current system and most importantly, our voice.”

Former Democratic State Representative Dave McCrea also testified in support of this bill, suggesting that it is a means of “maintaining the current equilibrium and both Nebraska and Maine.”

“This system has proven a fair one which best ensures that all constituents in our state are heard from and represented,” he said, adding that it “account[s] for the diversity of our state’s population and varying needs.”

“The electoral system that we have now in Maine is working and must be protected at all costs,” McCrea said.

Another former Democratic representative, Geoff Gratwick of Bangor, similarly argued that “congressional district voting is a way to push back against bullies,” saying that “Maine and Nebraska need to preserve their independent votes.”

To date, there has been no apparent push for Maine to adopt a winner-take-all system. If successful, however, LD 1356 would automatically tie the fate of Maine’s vote allocation method to Nebraska’s.

Simply put, this bill would open the door for Maine’s system to be changed without any attempt ever having been made in the state to do so. It would also preclude lawmakers from having the opportunity to debate on any such effort if one were to be launched in the future.

The Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee can be expected to schedule a work session on this bill at some point in the coming weeks where this proposal will be given more in-depth consideration by Committee members.

Click Here for More Information on LD 1356