Maine Democrats threaten to switch to winner-take-all delegate system

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: ABC News

April 26, 2024, 5:41 PM


Democratic leaders in Maine are threatening to eliminate the state's split-vote system for allocating Electoral College delegates if Nebraska Republicans move forward with their plan to do the same.

The two states are the only ones in the country to allocate some delegates proportionally by congressional district, which in 2020 allowed President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to each secure one delegate in states that were otherwise won by the other – Biden in Nebraska and Trump in Maine.

But in early April, Trump, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and other prominent Republicans endorsed a legislative measure that would change Nebraska's allocation of Electoral College votes to a Trump-favorable, winner-take-all system. The state currently awards one vote for each of the state's three congressional districts and then two for the overall winner of the state.

Now, Democratic leaders in Maine, the only other state in the nation that awards electoral votes by congressional district, are indicating they'd make a similar change -- effectively negating any advantage Trump would gain under the proposed reform in Nebraska.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/maine-democrats-threaten-switch-winner-delegate-system/story?id=109703620

[Raven123]

1. Wow. Good thinking

[jimfields33]

2. Both states were dumb to do it in the first place.

[Metaphorical]

3. Doing the vote by congressional district nationally

would actually be a significant boon to Democrats, as such districts are ordinarily tied to population - this means that the 538 delegates would be more representative of the population overall (which favors Democrats when turnout is high enough to be representative). As it is right now, there are actually only fifty "real" voters because of winner-take-all style voting. It's no surprise that the US has been sliding into authoritarianism.

[PSPS]

4. If that were true, we wouldn't have a republican house majority now

Basing anything on house district results makes it subject to gerrymandering.

[jimfields33]

5. So doing it by district in each state would benefit

us? I guess we should do if in all 50 states. I was just pointing out that only two districts seemed dumb because nobody gained from it.