Nebraska GOP plan to deny Biden an electoral vote picks up momentum

https://www.semafor.com/article/04/03/2024/momentum-builds-behind-nebraska-push-to-deny-biden-a-key-electoral-vote?utm_campaign=semaforreddit

39 comments

  1. From Semafor’s David Weigel:

    Nebraska Republicans mobilized to change how their state awards electoral votes on Wednesday, with key legislators in Lincoln endorsing the plan and Democrats scrambling to stop it.

    As the end of the legislative session approached, Republicans were looking for a way to pass LB764, which would assign all five Nebraska electors to the winner of the statewide vote. Republican Sen. Julie Slama said on Wednesday that she’d add “winner-take-all” to a bill already headed to the floor, before Friday’s deadline for moving it. Democrats said that they still had the votes, and time, to block that.

    “The amount of chaos that Trump and his online cronies have created in the last few days of the legislative session where serious bills are being debated is a perfect snapshot of his bullying leadership,” Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb told Semafor. “The bill to remove a fair electoral vote process didn’t have the votes two months ago, two days ago or today. Nebraskans like our unique unicameral, public power and split electoral vote system.”

    Lippincott’s bill, which had not moved through committee after it was introduced last year, got new life after Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk endorsed it. In a Tuesday episode of his podcast, and in a post on X, Kirk urged listeners to call key Republicans in the state senate and pressure them to move the bill before the deadline.

    Within hours, Gov. Jim Pillen and Donald Trump both endorsed the legislation. On Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Ray Aguilar, who Kirk had told listeners could get the idea out of committee, put out a statement supporting it.

    “This gives Donald Trump a much bigger and better path to the presidency,” Kirk told Steve Bannon on the Wednesday episode of his War Room podcast. “It’s a no brainer.”

    Since 1991, Nebraska has awarded two electoral votes to the winner of the statewide popular vote, and one vote for the winner of each congressional district. In 2008 and 2020, Democrats won the Omaha-based 2nd District, while losing the rest of the state by double digits.

    That electoral vote could be especially crucial this cycle, because Biden has a highly plausible path to a 270-268 electoral victory if he wins Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania again, while losing Nevada, Georgia, and Arizona. Under a Nebraska “winner-take-all” system, that scenario would produce a 269-269 tie that sends the results to the incoming House of Representatives’ state delegations.

    Read the full story [here](https://www.semafor.com/article/04/03/2024/momentum-builds-behind-nebraska-push-to-deny-biden-a-key-electoral-vote?utm_campaign=semaforreddit).

  2. >“This gives Donald Trump a much bigger and better path to the presidency,” Kirk told Steve Bannon on the Wednesday episode of his War Room podcast. “It’s a no brainer.”

    Republicans openly admit they can’t win without cheating.

  4. DC and PR Statehood really need to be top priorities the next time Dems hold the Presidency, Senate and House.

  6. Our country is so fucked up, so much land votes, what an absolute disgrace that it can be this close at all.

  7. Why doesn’t Nebraska worry about winning the Big 10 first.

  8. I can’t wait until we get rid of the electoral college.

    I mean, it won’t happen in my lifetime, but I can dream…

  10. I really wish the states had to make the electoral votes proportional to the state’s votes. It wouldn’t solve all the problems with the electoral college but it would make the count closer to reality and would drive voter engagement. Which, of course, is why states won’t do it. 😞

  11. this suggestion came from the twitter account of a racist vlogger.

    This is how lost this party is.

  12. Another way to say this is “Nebraska plan to **disenfranchise their own voters** but that’s none of my business. 

  15. Ok, but then Maine should change their rules to Winner Takes All as well. It would cancel out Nebraska.

  16. Republicans cheating to rig an election, what else is new.

    Glad people can see what’s happening at least. Americans have to turn out in record numbers just like 2020 if we have a prayer.

  17. I’m sure Nebraska voters will have plenty to say about a GOP plan to steal votes.

  19. This alone should disbar those involved from their position and force a new election.

  20. This would be huge. If NV, AZ, and GA flip he needs that one vote along with MI, WI, and PA to get to 270.

  23. The electoral college needs to GO. It’s beyond broken and this is proof.

  24. It’s cute that they think the election will turn out to be 270-268. Consider that the 2020 election was 306-232.

  25. Isn’t this exactly what the USSC said would happen if Democrat controlled states removed Trump from the ballot? Looks like the GOP didn’t need a reason to remove Biden from the ballot so might as well remove Trump. The Democrats can at least point to the 14th Amendment.

  26. I hope this shit backfires on them and they lose Nebraska completely

  29. OMG sending the election to the House would be a nightmare. Nebraska GOP deliberately sewing chaos. I can’t think of a worse outcome than a non-270 electoral vote. It’ll lead to years of pain and a constitutional crisis.

  30. Ah, the typical radical centrist crowd in here that can’t rush to the post button fast enough to explain how this is totally fine because 48 other states do it this way – all the while ignoring the roaring *whoosh* of a missed point.

  33. You know you’ve failed as a political party if your candidates can’t ideologically compete and have to resort to blocking votes to win.

  34. More Nazi fanatical legislation out of Democracy hating Republicans.

  35. Colorado should just pass a law that it’s electoral votes go to the one who can draw a smiley face better, hold a live competition and declare Biden the winner.

  36. The amendment has already died. This is not moving forward

  38. Seems like the FBI should take over this investigation due to conflict of interest.

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