Maine & Nebraska
Please note that this content was published several years ago and some of the information may not be updated. For up-to-date information on election reform, see our pages on ranked choice voting and proportional representation.
Maine and Nebraska both use an alternative method of distributing their electoral votes, called the Congressional District Method. Currently, these two states are the only two in the union that diverge from the traditional winner-take-all method of electoral vote allocation.
Since electors are awarded to each state based on the number of House seats plus the number of Senate seats (always two), the congressional district method allocated one electoral vote to each congressional district. The winner of each district is awarded one electoral vote, and the winner of the state-wide vote is then awarded the state’s remaining two electoral votes.
This method has been used in Maine since 1972 and Nebraska since 1996. Prior to 2008, the statewide winner tended to sweep all the congressional districts in each state. Since 2008, there have been several elections in which these states awarded at least one electoral vote to each major party candidate
Some have argued for expanding this system to address the problems inherent in the use of the winner-take-all electoral college method. However, if expanded to all 50 states, the Congressional District Method would make the presidential election even less competitive, and it would increase the likelihood of a candidate winning the election without winning a majority of the national popular vote. We analyze the system, along with the “whole number proportional” system in our 2015 report, Fuzzy Math: Wrong Way Reforms for Allocating Electoral Votes.
Maine Senator John Martin, author of the state’s congressional district plan in 1969, endorses the National Popular Vote plan.
See our section on Solutions and the Case for Reform for more information.
