BURSTThe Nebraska Legislature killed a bill Tuesday that aimed to unify the state's Electoral College votes behind one candidate after its existing split method drew national interest during the 2024 election cycle.
Nebraska doles out some of its Electoral College votes based on outcomes in individual congressional districts, but many Republicans — including Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and President Trump — pushed this year to adopt a more traditional winner-take-all (WTA) approach, in which the presidential candidate with the highest tally statewide would receive all five of the state's Electoral College votes.
Lawmakers who opposed the change, which likely would have stopped Nebraskans in the Omaha-area swing district from influencing future presidential elections, filibustered for nearly four hours to block the legislation, and the GOP majority in the technically nonpartisan Legislature was unable to muster enough votes to end the stalling tactic.
Pillen, who also unsuccessfully pushed the Legislature to pass a winner-take-all measure ahead of last year's election, said in a statement that he is "deeply disappointed" by the latest bill's failure.
"I continue to believe that it is critical to pass WTA to strengthen Nebraska’s voice in presidential elections," he said. "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."
Pillen also decried the filibuster's role in killing the measure, arguing that the bill "should have received a fair up-or-down vote."
"Nebraskans expect and deserve principled, straightforward consistency from their elected leaders, and I’m disappointed that the Legislature fell short of those expectations with its failure today," he said.
The change could still happen if voters approve a proposed constitutional amendment that Republicans are trying to get on the ballot. The Legislature would have to first agree to the ballot measure, though.
"While it would be a surprise if that resolution came to the floor this year, we’ll remain vigilant and ready to continue advocating for a system that values every Nebraskan’s vote," Civic Nebraska, a nonpartisan voter advocacy group in the state, said after Tuesday's vote.
Nebraska's swing district, which has been dubbed the "Blue Dot" because it voted for Democratic candidates Kamala Harris in 2024 and Joe Biden in 2020 while the rest of the reliably red state backed Trump, drew national attention last fall as Harris and Trump were thought to be in a head-to-head battle to win the election, where every Electoral College vote could influence the national outcome.
Pillen, an ardent Trump supporter, and other allies of the president have pushed for a return to the winner-take-all method that Nebraska backed away from three decades ago. Trump, himself, also reportedly pressed Republican lawmakers, who had been cool to the proposal.
Pillen, who was elected in 2022 after Trump endorsed his GOP opponent, is mulling a run for a second term next year. After the previous attempt at winner-take-all failed last fall, Trump thanked Pillen on social media for his efforts.