How Do Maine and Nebraska Split Electoral Votes?

Maine and Nebraska use what’s called the congressional district method. Each state gives two electoral votes to the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote and one electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. Maine has two districts and four electoral votes; Nebraska has three districts and five. Every other state, plus DC, gives all its electoral votes to the statewide winner.

Both states have split their votes in recent elections, and in a close race a single district vote could decide the presidency.

How does the congressional district method work? #

A candidate can lose the state and still take a district’s vote. That’s exactly what has happened in every recent split.

The Constitution lets each state legislature decide how to choose its electors, so any state could adopt this method, or drop it, by passing a law. For how electors are picked and certified, see how electoral college electors are chosen.

Why did Maine and Nebraska adopt it? #

Maine passed its law in 1969, after the 1968 election in which George Wallace’s third-party run raised worries that a candidate could win all of a state’s electoral votes with a small plurality. Lawmakers wanted the state’s electoral votes to better reflect how its voters split.

Nebraska switched in 1991. Supporters, led by state Sen. DiAnna Schimek, argued that awarding votes by district would draw presidential campaigns to a state they usually ignored.

For decades it made no difference. Neither state split its vote until 2008.

When have Maine and Nebraska split their votes? #

The pattern is a city-versus-country split. Nebraska’s 2nd District centers on Omaha and its suburbs. Maine’s 2nd District covers most of the state’s rural north and interior. Obama won Nebraska’s 2nd by about two points in 2008 while losing the state by around 15; Harris carried it by about four points in 2024 while losing Nebraska by about 20.

Why do these two districts get so much attention? #

Because a single electoral vote can matter. If the seven closest swing states split a certain way, the difference between 269-269 and 270-268 can come down to Nebraska’s 2nd or Maine’s 2nd. A 269-269 tie would send the election to the House, where each state delegation gets one vote. Our explainer on what happens in an Electoral College tie walks through it.

Nebraska’s 2nd District is often called the “blue dot” because on an electoral map it has shown up as a single Democratic district in an otherwise Republican state. Both parties now campaign there directly, and in Maine’s 2nd, which Republicans have carried three times in a row.

District lines matter too. Nebraska redrew its districts after the 2020 census, and any future redraw could make the 2nd District more or less competitive.

Has anyone tried to end the split system? #

Yes, repeatedly, mostly in Nebraska. Because Nebraska as a whole votes Republican, a return to winner-take-all would likely give Republicans all five votes.

In April 2024, Governor Jim Pillen backed a push to switch before that year’s election. It fell short in the officially nonpartisan, one-chamber legislature, where passing it would take 33 votes to overcome a filibuster. State Sen. Mike McDonnell, who had recently switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party, said he wouldn’t support ending debate on the change. After a renewed push in September 2024, Pillen announced he wouldn’t call a special session without the votes, and the split system stayed in place for 2024. As of this writing, Nebraska still splits its electoral votes.

In Maine, some Democratic lawmakers floated switching to winner-take-all in response, which would take away the district vote Republicans have won there. Maine also uses ranked-choice voting in presidential elections, which it first did in 2020. Our guide to how ranked-choice voting works covers the mechanics.

Could other states adopt the district method? #

Any state legislature could. Proposals have come up in several states over the years, usually from whichever party would gain a few electoral votes from the change in that state. They rarely pass, because the majority party in a state usually benefits from keeping all of its electoral votes.

Critics also point out a downside: once electoral votes follow district lines, gerrymandering congressional maps could affect the presidential outcome, not just the House.

How do you follow the 2028 race now? #

The next time these districts matter will be November 2028, and the swing-state map could shift by then. For which states and districts are expected to be close, see the key swing states for 2028. The nomination contests come first. Election Tracker has a 2028 Primary tab with the Republican and Democratic fields shown separately, each with a polling average and trend line, and it shows presidential approval as a 7-day average. It’s free on iPhone.

Frequently asked questions #

Has a split electoral vote ever decided a presidential election? #

No. None of the splits since 2008 changed the winner. But in several plausible close scenarios, one district’s vote would be the difference between a win and a 269-269 tie.

Can other states split their electoral votes? #

Yes. The Constitution lets each state legislature decide how its electors are chosen. A state could adopt the district method or another system by passing a law.

Why is Nebraska’s 2nd District called the “blue dot”? #

Because in 2008, 2020 and 2024 it voted Democratic while the rest of Nebraska voted Republican, so on a map it appeared as a single blue district surrounded by red.

Does Maine use ranked-choice voting for president? #

Yes. Maine has used ranked-choice voting for presidential elections since 2020, both for the statewide vote and for each district.

Could Nebraska switch to winner-take-all before 2028? #

It’s possible if supporters can get 33 votes in the legislature to overcome a filibuster. Efforts in 2024 fell short, and as of this writing the district system remains in place.