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Adam R. Lee represents part of Auburn in the Maine House of Representatives. He serves on the Judiciary Committee.
Here’s a sentence you won’t usually hear from elected officials: I hope no one ever has to implement my latest bill.
Close political observers know that Maine has a unique set of rules for presidential elections. Maine and Nebraska are the only two states where each congressional district casts an Electoral College vote, in addition to two other votes cast to support the statewide winner. All other states assign all of their Electoral College votes on a statewide basis.
Our system means that Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, where my hometown of Auburn is located, plays a unique role in our country’s politics. The 2nd District has often broken with the statewide total in Maine. In 2016, 2020, and 2024, for example, the district’s electoral vote went to Donald Trump while the state as a whole favored the Democratic nominees each year.
Nebraska’s experience is like Maine’s as seen through a mirror. While the state as a whole has favored President Donald Trump, their 2nd Congressional District voted differently from the rest of the state in 2020 and 2024, voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in those years.
Maine’s 2nd District is where my family roots are, and I’m proud to be raising my family here. I’ve devoted my career to ensuring our communities can have their voices heard. I did not vote for Donald Trump, but many of my neighbors here did — and I strongly support our system that protects the will of the voters.
Unfortunately, our system is under attack. National political actors would rather seek every advantage for their candidates than protect the power of voters. So different political parties are now pushing both Maine and Nebraska to change our rules to favor their efforts.
I know how important it is to protect our system. I also know that hope and inaction isn’t a strategy. So I am introducing a bill that preserves our unique system — except if Nebraska changes their laws.
I’d like to explain why this bill is essential to protecting Mainers’ voices and their votes.
Currently, Nebraska has a total of five electoral votes, while Maine has four. Because each state divided its electoral votes, Donald Trump won five total electoral votes from the two states (four from Nebraska and one from Maine) while Biden and then Harris won four (three from Maine and one from Nebraska).
In both Maine and Nebraska, this means our presidential votes more closely match the will of our actual voters. Just as importantly, these systems mean that national politicians and their staff pay a little bit more attention to us. In the 2024 election, these single electoral votes were decided by some of the narrowest margins in America. That means all of the issues we’re confronting here in the 2nd District command attention from national campaigns.
My bill only takes effect if Nebraska succumbs to out-of-state political pressure and changes to a so-called “winner take all” system for their electoral votes. The most likely outcome in this situation is that the Republican nominee still wins five electoral votes across the two states while the Democratic nominee would win four electoral votes. That’s the same outcome as voters created in 2020 and 2024. In other words, if both states change their laws, neither political party will gain an advantage. That is what makes it such a meaningful disincentive to those seeking to change the law in Nebraska.
I believe our current system works. We must continue focusing on the issues facing Mainers every day: schools, the cost of living, health care, job creation, and protecting the Maine way of life. We also must send a message to outside political actors that we won’t tolerate their interference in our elections; and that is what my bill seeks to do.
