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Governor Pillen issues statement on status of special session on Winner Take All program

LINCOLN, NE – Today, Governor Jim Pillen issued the following statement regarding the status of deliberations for a special session on the reinstatement of the winner-take-all (WTA) principle in the allocation of votes in Nebraska’s Electoral College:

“As Governor of Nebraska, I will never waver in my commitment to do what is right for our state. As I have made clear time and time again, I strongly support statewide unity and join 48 other states in awarding all five of our electoral votes to the presidential candidate who receives the majority of Nebraskans’ votes. As I have also made clear, I am willing to call the Legislature into special session to resolve this 30-year-old issue before the 2024 election. However, I must receive clear and public indications that 33 Senators are willing to vote in such a session to restore the winner-takes-all principle. I have been consistent and clear on this issue and expect members of the Legislature to do the same so that as leaders we are transparent and accountable to Nebraskans.

In keeping with these principles, I and other conservatives worked diligently to gauge legislative support for WTA in a special pre-election session. At this time, I have not received any concrete and public indication that 33 Senators would vote for WTA. If that changes, I will enthusiastically call a special session.”