how are maine and nebraska unique in how they allocate electoral votes?

Maine and Nebraska are unique in how they allocate electoral votes because they use the congressional district method rather than the winner-take-all system used by all other states. Both states allocate two electoral votes to the overall statewide popular vote winner, and then allocate one electoral vote to the winner in each individual congressional district. Maine has 2 congressional districts, and Nebraska has 3, so their electoral votes can be split between candidates based on district-level results, allowing for more proportional representation of voters. This method makes Maine and Nebraska able to split their electoral votes between presidential candidates, which is rare and can have significant effects in close elections. For example, Nebraska first split its electoral vote in 2008, and Maine first split its vote in 2016. The split votes make the districts in these states important battlegrounds, as candidates can target specific districts to gain electoral votes even if they do not win the statewide popular vote. This contrasts with the norm where all electoral votes in a state go to one candidate who wins the overall state popular vote.