Tonight on all in until my people we dont need any votes. All i wanted do is make sure we got our vote. If trump plans to cheat instead of win [ inaudible ] i hope the people of nebraska understand this may come down to a single Electoral Vote. Tonight how the republican attempt to change nebraskas Voting System just six weeks before the election failed thanks to one republican State Senator. In 2016, former President Trump won. In 2020, President Biden won. Come in and work for the book. You will join me live tonight. Plus women will be happy, healthy, confident and free. Senator Elizabeth Warren on trumps message to women. Direct national Security SpokesmanJohn Kirby on the president s final address to the united nations. My fellow leaders, let us never forget some things are more important than staying in power. All in starts right now. Good evening from new york. I am chris hayes. There is a basic dynamic in this Election Cycle that is not getting enough attention, and it is this. The Trump Era republican party would rather cheat than win. And, i dont mean that they will lie about migrants or teachers or trans people. I mean, they dont care about winning more votes. They want to win regardless of votes or sometimes i think actually, they prefer to win through subterfuge than actual democratic politics. That Sounds Hyperbolic or weird, you dont have to take my word for it. Just ask Donald Trump. I tell my people i dont need any votes. We got all the votes we need. All i want to do is make sure that we guard our votes. It is guarded. We stopped the seal. You know, there is a lot of expressions. I want the vote guarded. I want the Steel Stop because we dont need the votes. We have the votes. We dont need the votes. We need protection of the votes once they are cast. Listen, we dont need votes. We got more votes than anybody has ever had. We need to watch the vote. Think about this. He says it all the time. He is telling people i dont want more votes. I dont want more votes. What i want is to control the electoral system, and you should take Donald Trump seriously when he says that because he keeps saying it. A campaign that is serious about winning the most votes starts with a series ground, Field Operation that knocks on doors and helps voters find rise to the polls. Trump benefited from an Rnc Vote Campaign that worked. But trump is now outsourced their Field Operation to Super Pacs as well is a Swing State republican operative told Nbc News this month there is no tangible Evidence Trump and the rnc have invested in the kind of Ground Game you need in a turnout election. Local republicans are not been asked to not doors, make Phone Calls, Harvest Mailin ballots. Instead, there been asked to be polewatchers in republican counties with republican clerks. Instead of a Ground Game, trump and the rnc have recruited roughly 175,000 volunteers to execute its election integrity program, otherwise known as protective vote. This operation, the dispatch reports, the rnc has already filed 115 lawsuits across 25 states compared with 79 four years ago and Election Day is still four years away. Under trump republicans believe they dont need voter outreach. They need Pole Watchers and lawyers and challenges to laws that make voting and counting votes easier. As We Saw In Georgia Last week went a majority in that State Election Board voted to require handcounted ballots in that state, a move that could drastically lengthen the amount of time to tally results in a critical battleground state. The georgia republican attorney Generals Office suggests the move is illegal in the Republican Secretary of state says it could cause chaos and introduce errors on Election Night but it was approved by three Board Members who have been praised by former President Trump. All this is reminiscent of Assertions Trump and his lawyers made after the 2020 election. Remember when trump made that Phone Call to Brad Roethlisberger asking him to find 11,000 votes and steel that election . He did that behind the news and behind the scenes in secret but when he did that, he tried to launder the subterfuge like yeah we did it. He acted like it was another perfect Phone Call and hes doing it again but not just battleground states. You know this is a very tight election. It could be one of the closest in president ial history, so every possible Electoral Vote matters because Electoral Votes are ultimately what decides the presidency. Most states give them all their Electoral Votes to the winner of the popular vote. Two states are not winner take all. Those two states are Maine And Nebraska where whoever gets the most votes in an individual congressional district wins that districts single Electoral Vote. Even though nebraska is a pretty red state, the congressional district containing omaha tends to vote blue and so since Barack Obama back in 2008 it has been a competitive district for democrats and republicans. The converse is true in maine. That is a blue state where one Electoral Vote went to Donald Trump in the last two elections. In most Elections None of this would be too important but this is what the Electoral College would look like if Donald Trump won all the states he took in 2020 georgia, arizona, and nevada. As you can see, it suddenly becomes critical that harris takes that single Blue Dot in omaha. That single vote would be the difference between winning the election with exactly 270 votes or tying Donald Trump and Electoral College with 269 votes, a tie that the republicandominated congress could then break in trumps favor. So, democracy itself could depend on the singlevote districts. So of Course Back in april, trump and republicans pushed hard for Nebraska Legislatures to pass a bill making it a winner take all state, a Push Led by charlie kerr, the same far right commentator whose Super Pac is now leading trumps Get Out The Vote effort. The thing is the bush did not work. Nebraska did not change its Voting Roles in fact because of the threat from maine that maine democrats would just change theirs. Fine, right . Mutually assured destruction. If both states become winner take all, neither party gets an advantage so the effort died last spring. In fact, listen to this carefully. Maines chance to change its rules passed quietly last month. That is because a bill takes 90 days to become a law after it is passed in maine. Last wednesday marked 90 days before the Electoral College meets in december. Last wednesday was the deadline for maine to be able to change its electoral College System to winner take all in time for the Electoral College. Guess what else happened last wednesday and nebraska. State lawmakers along with South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham came together for a conversation regarding winner take over. In that Closeddoor Meeting we are told grandmas trying to drum up support to change the way nebraska hands out its Electoral College votes. Right . Reservoir dogs. Maine and nebraska both have a gun pointed at each other. Maine drops again. Its like oh, why dont we talk about that winner take all. Assured that maine cannot retaliate anymore, it was back on the menu. Last Week Nebraska republicans moved to change their Electoral Vote rules to favor trump and once again graham openly admitted what he was doing, trying to launder it as normal politics. Nebraska has been talking about this for years. It is a very close election. The entire federal delegation of Nebraska House members and two senators want this change. To my friends and nebraska, that one Electoral Vote could be the difference between harris being president or not and she is a disaster for nebraska in the world. Side note, you see how the Electoral Colleges rube Goldberg Machine invites this kind of sabotage . Like what are we doing here . Count all the votes. The person with the most votes should win like every other election in america. That said, republicans would rather cheat than win. We saw this time and time again in 2020 when Trump And Instagram and Pressured Roethlisberger to change votes in georgia after theyve been cast. When they pushed Arizonas House Speaker for bowers to fake trump electors. In both those cases, Americas Future hung in the balance. Trumps attacks on democracy only failed because the Courage And Integrity of individual republicans like Brad Roethlisberger in georgia and bowers in arizona resisted the pressure of the system and now that appears to be what is happening in nebraska. In order to hold a special session to change your Electoral Vote rules Nebraska Publicans need a filibuster proof majority. One single republican senator could block that plan and one did. His name is senator Mike Macdonald, a former democrat who announced publicly yesterday he was a No Vote on the change. If you look at my position, its been known and i made it clear for the reasons is a believe it makes it relevant in the president ial election. It brings dollars into our city. Were talking about potentially a 50 Million economic impact and also it means youve got a work for it. Youve got to work for our vote. I mean, trump won that Omaha District in 2016. Its not out of reach but remember, he keeps telling his supporters and Campaign Workers i dont need votes. I need to watch the vote. Because ultimately Donald Trump would rather cheat than win. Nebraska republican State SenatorMike Macdonald joins me now. Its wonderful having you on the program. Thanks for making some time for us tonight. That evening. Thanks for the invitation. Is an informational start, from your perspective, could you guide us through what the conversations in the statehouse and in that republican caucus have been like through this year going back to april when it first surfaced as an idea then seemed to go away then made a Sudden Come Back last week. I want to start with thanking all the people who have reached out to me on both sides and 90 of them have been professional, of course, passionate. You cant manufacture passion, its got to come from the heart. I understand this is a serious issue and serious decision. I do appreciate the thousands of emails and conversations and going back to 2016 when i decided to run for the legislature and we are the only one House System in the country which i think we do that better than most states should probably look at changing over to a one health system. I set the reason i want to keep the system we have is the idea that it makes omaha relevant. And it makes the dollars, of course, the economic impact, but it makes people work for our vote. Come on in and talk to some work for our vote and i think sometimes people say oh, nebraska, nice. I they think thats a sign of weakness. Its not. We Work Hard and we play by the rules. Come on in, Work Hard, play by the rules, dont try to change them with 42 days left and as you said earlier, look at the past. Look at the idea of President Biden in 2020, former President Trump in 2016. You know, work for that boat and you can win it but youve got to come in and work and youve got to talk to us. It seems to me that here is my feeling about this and im curious what you think. If you went to winner take all in 2023 where you had a statewide referendum or even earlier this year, i would say yes, that is political hardball by republicans but okay, its hardball. 43 days before the elections, after maine has already past the window, seems like not on the up and up. I have talked about this since 2017 when i was elected. Lets do it in midterm. Lets go ahead and let the people of nebraska vote, which i would oppose this, my vote to switch to winner take all. Of the people in nebraska want to do it twoyears out and let whoever wants to run for President Of The United States know the rules i think that would be fair. I think we should go around the country and in maine, ask other parts of the country, look at our system. All congressional districts can should look at the way we are doing things but i because i think you are talking about going to the people, not talking about 33 senators making a decision. The idea that the coach calls a timeout with two minutes left and says i want to change the value of a Field Goal from three points to four and thats all im going to win, it does not ring true and that is not part of nebraska values. We want to let the people make the decision and to former President Trump and Vice President harris, come into omaha. Have a debate in omaha. Again, work for that Vote And Work for that win as others have done in the past including former President Trump and President Biden. Have you received any communication from former President Trump directly . My policy for the last eight years, i dont talk about private conversations. I can say that people have reached out through Phone Calls and emails and both sides really have worked hard, but theyve been 90 you know, professional and polite. I would say both campaigns were hundred percent professional and polite and we had good conversations and i was try to tell people you know, Tell Me Why im wrong. Teach me something i dont know , but since 2016 when i ran, i have been consistent on this issue based on the idea that i think this is better than winner take all. It is better for our democracy. Let people vote. The idea of the red dot, Blue Dot, how about the Green Dot . It is an economic boost to the city a Phone Call but also have them work for the dot. Come have them talk to the people and work for that vote. I know x President Trump said you are wrong about this and sort of blasted you want to social which i am sure is par for the course. Are you prepared i guess for the glare of that to intensify . Well, i stand behind my word for eight years, you can talk to my colleagues and i have 48 colleagues that i know Work Hard and they are good people but that i disagree with on a number of issues but you can talk to them and they will tell y