共和党人正在加紧行动他们改变内布拉斯加州选举投票程序的努力赢家通吃——这一举动将有利于前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)在预计将于11月举行的大选中获胜，在这场大选中，一张选票可能会在选举团中产生关键影响。
如果这个倾向于共和党的州将全部五张选举人票单独分配给川普，而不是与卡玛拉·哈里斯分享，那么赢家通吃的选举变化可能是至关重要的。
内布拉斯加州在2020年分裂了选举人票，总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)翻转了第二选区，其中包括民主党的大本营奥马哈。
特朗普在4月份支持赢家通吃的制度。
由于该州的全部联邦代表团、所有共和党人和其他国家共和党人士继续推动变革，州立法者面临的压力继续增长。
但是修改内布拉斯加州的选举团程序并不简单。
共和党州长吉姆·皮伦将不得不召开一次特别立法会议。皮伦发布了一个声明他周五表示，除非共和党立法者表明他们需要33票来打破预期的民主党阻挠，否则他不会召集会议。
然而，州参议员并不确信他们有足够的票数;州参议员汤姆·贝尔沃告诉内布拉斯加州考官，他预计该团体将获得30或31票。这就是特朗普盟友南卡罗来纳州参议员林赛·格雷厄姆(Lindsey Graham)被请来陈述案情的原因。格雷厄姆周三飞往内布拉斯加州会见主要利益相关者。
“我以州长的身份去和一些参议员交谈。参议员皮特·里基茨和州长请我出来参加党团会议。我想这就是你所说的，关于世界局势和下一次选举在外交政策方面的后果，”格雷厄姆周四告诉美国广播公司新闻。
“我希望他们会允许赢者通吃。[分割选举人票]是92年为了帮助克林顿而创立的。特朗普会以20个百分点的优势赢得这个州。你知道，我在会议上说，我从来没有像现在这样看到我们国家面临如此多的挑战和威胁。“我认为她会让事情变得更糟，”他说，指的是哈里斯我很高兴能够出去谈论我所看到的世界，我希望内布拉斯加州的人民能够把这归结为一张选举人票。
里基茨周四晚些时候在美国国会大厦告诉记者，他鼓励格雷厄姆去内布拉斯加州推动赢家通吃。他说:“我认为参议员格雷厄姆是一个很好的发言人，他非常了解为什么我们需要确保我们所有的选民都有机会表达他们对其他州正在做的事情的意见。”
内布拉斯加州联邦代表团的所有五名成员——都是共和党人——在周三晚上联合起来，写了一封信来证明这一变化。这封信由共和党众议员迈克·弗洛德、唐·培根、阿德里安·史密斯和共和党参议员黛比·费舍尔和里基茨签署，信中说，该州应该“在总统选举中用统一的声音说话”
“我们需要一个能代表我们所有人的总统，从奥马哈到斯科茨布拉夫，以及两者之间的任何地方。参议员和州长是由整个州选举产生的，因为他们平等地代表了内布拉斯加州的全体人民，在总统选举中，该州也应该用统一的声音说话。毕竟，我们首先是内布拉斯加州人，而不是内布拉斯加州三个国会选区的成员，”信中写道。
内布拉斯加州立法机构的发言人Kate Heltzel概述了实施这一变革所需的立法程序。
“一旦特别会议召开，参议员将提出一项法案，该法案可能会提交给政府、军队和退伍军人事务委员会，然后该委员会将举行一次公开听证会。如果该法案由委员会提出，它将被提交立法机构，并需要经过三轮辩论才能最终通过。特别会议持续多长时间没有固定的时间框架----这在会议开始后由参议员决定----只是根据宪法要求的各轮辩论之间的停留时间等，该程序要求法案从提出到最终通过至少需要7天时间。
有议员向考官提到，特朗普本人可能会开始就此事打电话。美国广播公司新闻正在等待特朗普竞选团队的回应。
然而，如果Pillen真的召集了一次特别会议，并且成员们能够打破阻挠议事，变革就能很快实施。据内布拉斯加州副国务卿辛迪·艾伦(Cindi Allen)称，“如果立法机构在选举前通过赢者通吃，除非有人提出质疑，赢者通吃将会生效。”这适用于选举周期中的任何时候。即使在10月7日提前投票开始后。部长办公室证实，如果没有法律挑战，内布拉斯加州立法机构可能会在最后一刻，例如11月2日或3日，推动这项改革。
内布拉斯加州立法机构的发言人凯特·赫尔泽尔看到了更多的灰色地带。
一些人认为，在内布拉斯加州大选投票开始后，该规则不能改变。亲自提前投票在选举前30天开始，也就是今年的10月7日。其他人认为，唯一的要求是在选举团成员12月投票之前修改法律。据我所知，司法部长还没有正式介入这个问题，所以我没有一个明确的答案，”她写道。
Republicans step up effort to change Nebraska's electoral vote process to benefit Trump
Republicans are stepping uptheir efforts to change Nebraska's electoral vote processto winner-take-all -- a move that would benefit former President Donald Trump in an expected close November election in which a single vote could make a key difference in the Electoral College.
The winner-take-all electoral change could be pivotal if the Republican-leaning state allocates all of its five electoral votes solely to Trump instead of dividing them with Kamala Harris.
Nebraska split its electoral votes in 2020, with President Joe Biden flipping the 2nd District, which includes the Democratic stronghold of Omaha.
Trump endorsed the winner-take-all system in April.
Pressure continues to grow on state lawmakers to as the state's full federal delegation, all Republicans, and other national GOP figures continue to push for the change.
But amending Nebraska's electoral college process is not simple.
Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, would have to convene a special legislative session. Pillen released astatementon Friday saying he would not call a session unless GOP legislators show they have 33 votes needed to break an expected Democratic filibuster.
Yet, state senators are not confident they have the votes; State Sen. Tom Berwer told the Nebraska Examiner he anticipates the group to come shy with 30 or 31 votes. That is a reason why Trump-ally Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have been brought in to make the case. Graham flew to Nebraska Wednesday to meet with key stakeholders.
"I went and talked to some senators as the Governor. Senator [Pete] Ricketts and the Governor asked me to come out and to the caucus. I guess that's what you call it, about the state of the play in the world and the consequences of the next election on a foreign policy front," Graham told ABC News on Thursday.
"I hope they will allow winner-take-all. [Splitting electoral votes] was created in '92 to help Clinton. Trump's going to win the state by 20 points. You know, I told the conference, I've never seen so many challenges and threats to our country as I do now. I think she would make things worse," he said, referring to Harris. "I was glad to go out and talk about the world as I see it, and I hope the people in Nebraska that this may come down to a single electoral vote," he added.
Ricketts told reporters at the U.S. Capitol later on Thursday that he encouraged Graham to go to Nebraska to push for winner-take-all. "I think Senator Graham is a great spokesperson for it, he is very savvy about why we need to make sure that all of our voters have an opportunity to have their voices heard on what the other states are doing," he said.
All five members of Nebraska's federal delegation -- all Republicans -- joined together on Wednesday night, penning a letter to vouch for the change. The letter -- signed by GOP Reps. Mike Flood, Don Bacon, Adrian Smith and Republican Sens. Deb Fischer and Ricketts -- said the state should "speak with a united voice in presidential elections."
"We need a President that will represent all of us, from Omaha to Scottsbluff and everywhere in-between. Senators and Governors are elected by the state as a whole because they represent all of the people of Nebraska equally, and the state should speak with a united voice in presidential elections as well. After all, we are Nebraskans first, not members of Nebraska's three congressional districts," the letter reads.
Kate Heltzel, a spokesperson for the Nebraska legislature outlined the legislative process that would need to unfold in order to implement the change.
"A senator would introduce a bill once the special session convenes, which likely would be referenced to the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, which would then hold a public hearing. If the bill is advanced by the committee, it would move to the floor of the Legislature and would need to advance through three rounds of debate before final passage. There is no set time frame for how long a special session lasts -- that is up to the senators after it begins -- except that the process requires a minimum of seven days for a bill to move from introduction to final passage, based on constitutionally required layover days between rounds of debate, etc."
Some members mentioned to the Examiner that Trump himself may begin to make calls on the matter. ABC News is awaiting a response from Trump campaign.
However, if Pillen does call a special session, and members are able to break a filibuster, changes can be enacted quickly. According to Nebraska's deputy secretary of state, Cindi Allen, "If winner-take-all is passed by the legislature before the election, barring any challenges, winner-take-all would go into effect." This applies to any time in the election cycle. Even after early voting starts on Oct. 7. The secretary's office confirmed that if there are no legal challenges, the Nebraska legislature could push the change through at the very last minute, on Nov. 2 or 3, for example.
Kate Heltzel, a spokesperson for the Nebraska legislature, sees more of a gray area.
"Some argue that the rule cannot be changed after general election voting begins in Nebraska. In-person early voting begins 30 days before an election, or Oct. 7 this year. Others contend that the only requirement is that the law be changed before Electoral College members cast their votes in December. To my knowledge, the attorney general has not officially weighed in on the issues, so I don't have a definitive answer," she wrote.
