One Republican Lawmaker Crushes Trump’s Attempt to Change Election Law
Donald Trump’s attempt to grab another electoral vote and complicate Kamala Harris’s efforts to win the presidential election may have just hit a wall.A conservative effort to change how Nebraska awards its Electoral College votes was shot down Monday by Republican state Senator Mike McDonnell, who said he won’t support any changes to the state’s unique system. In a statement, McDonnell said, “After deep consideration, it is clear to me that right now, 43 days from Election Day, is not the moment to make this change.”Nebraska is one of two states (the other is Maine) that award one Electoral College vote to the winner in each congressional district and two more votes to the winner of the state’s popular vote. Republicans sought to make Nebraska’s Electoral College votes a winner-take-all system, in an effort spearheaded by Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.Last week, Graham met with Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and more than a dozen Republican state lawmakers, including McDonnell, to push a bill that would change the state’s vote allocation system in the Electoral College. Much of Nebraska leans Republican, with the exception of its 2nd congressional district, which includes the Democratic-leaning city of Omaha, represented by McDonnell.It appears that McDonnell’s opposition will doom the effort, which would have taken away a critical Electoral College vote for Harris and the Democrats. Nebraska’s legislature has 33 Republicans, 15 Democrats, and one progressive, registered nonpartisan. So far, 17 legislators have pledged to vote “no” on changes to the electoral law, including McDonnell, according to the Nebraska Democratic Party. In Nebraska, 33 votes are required to overcome a filibuster.If Nebraska would’ve changed its electoral vote allocation, it would have pushed Maine to try and do the same to make up for the loss, since it delivered one vote to Donald Trump and three to Joe Biden in 2020. But Maine’s laws prevent any such changes so close to Election Day. It seems that yet another of Trump’s election schemes has been foiled.
Donald Trump’s attempt to grab another electoral vote and complicate Kamala Harris’s efforts to win the presidential election may have just hit a wall.
A conservative effort to change how Nebraska awards its Electoral College votes was shot down Monday by Republican state Senator Mike McDonnell, who said he won’t support any changes to the state’s unique system. In a statement, McDonnell said, “After deep consideration, it is clear to me that right now, 43 days from Election Day, is not the moment to make this change.”
Nebraska is one of two states (the other is Maine) that award one Electoral College vote to the winner in each congressional district and two more votes to the winner of the state’s popular vote. Republicans sought to make Nebraska’s Electoral College votes a winner-take-all system, in an effort spearheaded by Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Last week, Graham met with Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and more than a dozen Republican state lawmakers, including McDonnell, to push a bill that would change the state’s vote allocation system in the Electoral College. Much of Nebraska leans Republican, with the exception of its 2nd congressional district, which includes the Democratic-leaning city of Omaha, represented by McDonnell.
It appears that McDonnell’s opposition will doom the effort, which would have taken away a critical Electoral College vote for Harris and the Democrats. Nebraska’s legislature has 33 Republicans, 15 Democrats, and one progressive, registered nonpartisan. So far, 17 legislators have pledged to vote “no” on changes to the electoral law, including McDonnell, according to the Nebraska Democratic Party. In Nebraska, 33 votes are required to overcome a filibuster.
If Nebraska would’ve changed its electoral vote allocation, it would have pushed Maine to try and do the same to make up for the loss, since it delivered one vote to Donald Trump and three to Joe Biden in 2020. But Maine’s laws prevent any such changes so close to Election Day. It seems that yet another of Trump’s election schemes has been foiled.
