How Nebraska could shake up the presidential map: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In today’s edition, we report on how a potential rule change around Nebraska's electoral votes could have a major effect on the 2024 presidential race. Plus, chief political analyst Chuck Todd explains why late-breaking voters will decide the election.

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How Nebraska could shake up the presidential map

By Ben Kamisar, Bridget Bowman and Allan Smith

Nebraska is far from anyone’s idea of a battleground state, but a potential rule change there could have major ramifications on the outcome of this year’s presidential election.

Donald Trump and Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen have called on the state’s Legislature to change the way Nebraska awards its Electoral College votes. While most states dole out all their Electoral College votes to the statewide winner of the presidential vote, Nebraska and Maine give out one electoral vote to the candidate who wins each congressional district.

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Despite the sudden rush of pressure from top Republicans, it’s unclear if Nebraska’s nonpartisan, unicameral Legislature would be able to make the change before its session ends in two weeks. One GOP state senator filed a previously introduced bill on the topic as an amendment to legislation further along in the process in the hopes of forcing a faster vote on it. But the measure could still face a possible filibuster.

If the change did occur, though, it would have far greater repercussions than it may initially seem.

Joe Biden won an