A GOP push to change how Nebraska awards its electoral votes appears to have stalled

The Nebraska state lawmaker at the center of the debate over whether the state will switch to a winner-takes-all system in the Electoral College says he will not change his position and “will oppose any attempted changes to our electoral college system before the 2024 election.”

“I have notified Governor [Jim] Pillen that I will not change my long-held position and will oppose any attempted changes to our electoral college system before the 2024 election,” said state Sen. Mike McDonnell in a statement Monday. “I also encouraged him and will encourage my colleagues in the Unicameral to pass a constitutional amendment during next year’s session, so that the people of Nebraska can once and for all decide this issue the way it should be decided – on the ballot.”

Nebraska is one of two states — Maine being the other — that allow split ballots if a candidate wins the popular vote in a congressional district. It’s “blue dot” — the state’s 2nd Congressional District — has gone for Democratic candidates in recent presidential elections.

Any change to the way Nebraska awards its five electoral votes could have had a major effect on the contours and strategy of the final few weeks of the campaign. Candidates need to secure 270 electoral votes in order to win the White House. For Vice President Harris, winning the electoral vote from the 2nd Congressional District would allow her to reach 270 were she able to also win the so-called Blue Wall states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Harris would reach 270 even if she were to lose every other battleground state.

Without that one vote, Harris would go from a 270-268 advantage in the electoral college to a 268-268 tie with former President Trump. In that scenario, the House of