Pillen says he would call Nebraska Legislature into special session for ‘winner take all’
Republican effort to change electoral vote allocations failed in the spring session
COLUMBUS, Neb. (WOWT) - While Gov. Jim Pillen remains focused on pushing for property tax reform, he says he’s open to calling a special session on another topic that’s been a national focus, particularly on the presidential campaign trail.
“I’m 100% focused on property tax,” Pillen said, noting that he would call a special session to address Nebraska’s “blue dot” — if the votes are there.
Nebraska awards two of its five electoral votes to the state’s overall presidential winner, then doles out a vote for each Congressional district separately.
In 2020, all but one of those votes went to Donald Trump; the electoral vote representing the state’s 2nd Congressional District, represented by Republican Don Bacon, went to Joe Biden. The 4-1 split earned Nebraska’s single Democratic electoral college vote the “blue dot” nickname.
There’s been a push in recent years by Republicans to turn Nebraska into a “winner-take-all” state, awarding all five of the state’s Electoral College votes to a single candidate. The latest initiative failed in the Legislature earlier this year.
Maine is the only other state that splits its electoral college votes to align with the popular vote. In April, Maine opted into a compact among several states aiming to eliminate the electoral college in favor of relying only on the popular vote.
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