Blue dot signs have inspired Republican countersigns.
Two I’ve seen are a white sign depicting just an entirely red Nebraska, and a white sign with a large red dot with a golden wave on its top that resembles Trump’s hair.
These red dot and red Nebraska signs are catching on, but not in the same way as blue dot signs have.
Bye-bye, blue dot?
Aware of Omaha’s sudden electoral importance, Republicans have begun trying to end Nebraska’s system of splitting its electoral votes.
In April 2024, Trump and the conservative commentator Charlie Kirk called on state legislators to propose a bill changing the state to a winner-take-all system.
Kirk described Nebraska as “being one of the most Republican states” and said the state’s electoral votes must “go towards electing the candidate the vast majority of Nebraskans prefer.”
Many people reacted with fury, and the bill did not advance in Nebraska’s one-house state Legislature. That’s another of the state’s political quirks: Nebraska is the only state to have a state legislature without an upper and lower chamber of lawmakers.
The system, called the unicameral, is officially partyless, meaning its 49 representatives are elected without their party on the ballot.
The unicameral dates from 1937 when it was thought this less costly, nonpartisan system would be a more representative form of government. So is splitting the state’s electoral votes: Voters can feel more confident that their vote counts and that every vote counts.
When South Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham visited Nebraska in September 2024, he pushed Gov. Jim Pillen, a fellow Republican, to implement a winner-take-all system for the 2024 election.
Pillen said he would not call a special session of the unicameral unless he has the 33 votes needed to pass the change to the state’s electoral system. That appears unlikely to happen before November.
Red + blue = purple?
A winner-take-all approach to Electoral College votes has the effect of erasing nuance and difference on the map of America by painting states as entirely red or blue.
No state has ever voted 100% Democrat or Republican. The country should be drawn in shades of purple.
Nebraska has the misleading appearance of overwhelming redness because of its many Republican-leaning rural counties with low population density. Yet Nebraska’s registered voters are approximately two-thirds Republicans and one-third Democrats. Many registered Democrats live in cities such as Omaha and Lincoln.
But they can be found throughout the state – just look for the blue dot.
Christina Elizabeth Dando does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation