Trump applauds Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen's efforts to change the state's electoral system

Former President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders praised Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen's last-ditch efforts on Wednesday to urge the state legislature to pass a bill that would change the state's electoral system, making it more difficult for President Joe Biden to win re-election.

Nebraska and Maine are the only states that do not follow the winner-takes-all system for electoral votes. In Nebraska, two of the five electoral votes are awarded to the presidential nominee who wins the most votes statewide. At the same time, the other three go to the winners of each of the state’s three congressional districts which tend to swing Democratic.

Republicans have been trying to alter the system since it was approved by the Legislature in 1991, but the bills have either been vetoed by a Democratic governor or died in committee.

“It would bring Nebraska into line with 48 of our fellow states, better reflect the founders’ intent, and ensure our state speaks with one unified voice in presidential elections,” Pillen said in a statement. “I call upon fellow Republicans in the Legislature to pass this bill to my desk so I can sign it into law.”

More: Could Nebraska's "blue dot" help Biden win the election?

GOP state Sen. Julie Slama filed an amendment Wednesday to an unrelated bill, hoping to spark life into the electoral vote legislation. The bill has been stalled in the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee after its initial sponsor, state Sen. Loren Lippincott, said he only had 25 out of the 33 votes necessary to overcome a filibuster, based on reporting by The Lincoln Journal Star .

“My staff and I are doing everything we can to seek options for getting this to the finish line,” Lippincott said in a statement to ABC News on Wednesday. “However, the harsh reality of a 2-day time frame is limiting.”

With less than a week left in this year’s legislative session and the political makeup of the Cornhusker Legislature (32 Republicans, 15 registered Democrats, and one nonpartisan progressive), the bill still lacks sufficient support to overcome the inevitable filibuster.

However, those odds do not dampen Trump’s encouragement of Pillen and the state senate to do “the right thing.”

“Governor Jim Pillen of Nebraska, a very smart and popular Governor, who has done some really great things, came out today with a very strong letter in support of returning Nebraska’s Electoral votes to a Winner-Take-All System,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Most Nebraskans have wanted to go back to this system for a very long time, because it’s what 48 other states do - it’s what the Founders intended, and it’s right for Nebraska. Thank you Governor for your bold leadership. Let’s hope the Senate does the right thing.”

More: What is the Electoral College? Here's how it works to elect the president.

State Sen. Pete Ricketts and other Republican leaders are hoping that Sen. Mike McDonnell's switch from Democrat to Republican will provide the one vote needed to make legislation filibuster-proof against Democratic opposition. McDonnell joined the Republican Party after being censured in March by the state Democratic party due to his pro-life stance and support for a ban on gender-affirming care.

“The addition of Mike McDonnell to the Republican rolls in the legislature means for the first time in recent memory there is a filibuster-proof Republican majority in the Unicameral,” Ricketts said in a statement Wednesday. “The timing heading into a Presidential election is an awesome opportunity to mobilize our Republican majority to a winner-take-all system and put one more electoral vote in the Republican column for 2024!”

The Legislature will likely return to debate on the amendment late Wednesday evening or Thursday.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump applauds Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen's efforts to change the state's electoral system