Why it's possible for Nebraska and Maine to split their electoral votes

WASHINGTON (AP) — 48 states and Washington, D.C. will award all of their presidential election votes to the candidate who wins statewide.

Then there are Nebraska and Maine.

Both states split their electoral votes in the 2024 election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, using rules that set them apart from the rest of the country.

The two states each award two electoral votes to the winner of the statewide vote and one electoral vote to the winner of the popular vote in each congressional district. Nebraska has three congressional districts and a total of five electoral votes, while Maine has two congressional districts and a total of four electoral votes.

Trump won statewide in Nebraska and the 1st and 3rd congressional districts, receiving four electoral votes. Harris carried the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District and his electoral vote. She is the third Democrat to win an election from the 2nd District under this system, after Barack Obama in 2008 and the presidency Joe Biden in 2020.

If Harris were to win Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and lose all other battleground states, she would need the electoral votes from Nebraska's 2nd District to win the presidency.

Earlier this year, some Republicans in Nebraska tried to change the state's law so that, like the rest of the country, all electoral votes would be awarded to the statewide winner. The attempt failed when a key Republican legislator opposed the plan.

Maine votes reliably Democratic in statewide elections, but Republicans are competitive in the more conservative 2nd Congressional District. Trump won the district and its electoral vote for the third straight time, while Harris took Maine's remaining three electoral votes by winning statewide and in the 1st Congressional District.

To enter the White House, a candidate must win at least 270 of 538 electoral votes.

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