Buzz
In most U.S. presidential elections, a candidate receives all of a state's electoral votes. This applies whether a state has a large number, like California's 55 votes, or a small number, such as Montana's three votes. However, two states take a different approach: Nebraska and Maine. These states have chosen the Congressional District Method, where electoral votes are distributed based on the state’s individual congressional districts rather than the entire state’s outcome.
Nebraska and Maine implemented this method in 1992 and 1972, respectively, but it had little impact until more recently, as their districts typically voted in unison. The first time a split vote occurred was in 2008, when Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, which includes Omaha, voted for Democrat Barack Obama, while the rest of the state supported Republican John McCain. Similarly, in 2016, Maine’s electoral vote was split when Donald Trump won the 2nd Congressional District.
But what’s the reasoning behind this split method, given that no other state follows it? One reason is historical precedent. In the early 1800s, Massachusetts employed the Congressional District Method during the elections of 1804 (Thomas Jefferson), 1812 (James Madison), and 1820 (James Monroe). Although Maine became its own state in 1820, it retained this voting method until 1828.
This arrangement worked for everyone until 1968, when the Nixon-Humphrey-Wallace race sparked controversy. Reformers argued that a three-way contest made electoral votes an unreliable method to decide the state’s outcome, since a candidate could claim all of the state’s electoral votes with only 34% of the popular vote, if the remaining 66% was split between the other two candidates. As a result, electoral votes didn’t necessarily reflect the actual sentiment of the popular vote.
In response, a bill passed in 1969 (but only implemented in the 1972 election) allowed Maine to split its votes by congressional district, as it had done over a century earlier. Nebraska followed suit 20 years later. Despite at least three attempts to repeal the Congressional District Method, both states have kept it, with Nebraska particularly determined to maintain the system.
