More Talk of Possible Special Session to Change Nebraska’s Method of Electoral Votes for President
LINCOLN–(KFOR/KOLN-TV Sept. 19)–There are talks of another special session of the Nebraska Legislature, but not on property taxes…….more about changing Nebraska’s method of electoral votes back to a winner-take-all system.
On Wednesday, South Carolina U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham met with more than a dozen members of the Nebraska Legislature at the Governor’s Mansion, according to KFOR’s media partner, 10/11 News. Graham’s visit to Lincoln was to speak to senators that are holdouts in hopes of changing their minds. Most of the Nebraska lawmakers that were at the meeting are ready to pass a bill to change the way Nebraska elects a President, but there are some holdouts.
Governor Pillen would need to make sure he has the 33 votes necessary to pass legislation, but he won’t call a special session until that’s been confirmed.
The governor and Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature John Arch on Wednesday formally received a letter from Nebraska’s Congressional delegation in Washington, DC that shows their support for the state to return to a winner-take-all system. The letter was led by First-District Congressman Mike Flood and joined by 2nd-District Representative Don Bacon, 3rd-District Representative Adrian Smith and Nebraska Republican Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts.
Nebraska has split its electoral votes in Presidential elections since a Democrat-led effort led to the split vote in the 1990s. Of the recent presidential elections, Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District that encompasses the Omaha metro area had awarded a electoral vote to Democrat Barack Obama in his 2008 election victory and to Democrat Joe Biden in his victory of the White House in 2020.