Proposals to require voter photo IDs and to wipe out congressional district presidential electoral votes in Nebraska cleared their committee hurdle Wednesday and were sent to the floor of the Legislature for debate. The voter photo ID bill is virtually certain to trigger a legislative filibuster. Both bills were advanced from the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee with Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln, the sole Democrat on the committee, casting the lone opposition votes. Before advancing the photo ID measure, the committee amended the bill (LB111) to expand the range of government-issued IDs that would be accepted and allow anyone to request a free photo ID. The winner-take-all bill (LB10) was advanced immediately after a public hearing that attracted supporting testimony from Secretary of State John Gale and Bob Evnen of Lincoln, speaking for the Nebraska Republican Party.
Former Sen. DiAnna Schimek of Lincoln, who introduced the 1991 bill that moved Nebraska to the current system that awards a presidential electoral vote to the winner in each of the state’s three congressional districts while reserving two votes for the statewide winner, opposed the change. The congressional district feature “encourages grassroots activity,” she said, and prompts more people to vote.
In 2008, President Barack Obama won metropolitan Omaha’s 2nd District electoral vote after a concerted voter registration drive and a substantial ground game, while Republican nominee John McCain won the state.
Full Article: Voter photo ID, winner-take-all move ahead : Politics.