LINCOLN- Lawmakers on the Nebraska Legislature’s Redistricting Committee voted along party lines Thursday to advance a congressional district map that splits Douglas County, on the heels of a day of public testimony in Omaha where most people who testified said they opposed that idea.

The bill, brought forward by committee chair Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and other Republican lawmakers, now goes to the full Legislature. Debate among the full body is scheduled to begin Friday. The proposal would need 33 votes to overcome a filibuster, and there are 32 Republicans and 17 Democrats in the officially nonpartisan Legislature.

The five Republicans on the committee voted to advance the bill in an executive session Thursday afternoon. If redistricting were on a typical timeline, Linehan said, the committee wouldn’t have taken the vote at the end of a long public hearing. But senators need to have something to debate at the Capitol Friday morning because of this year’s compressed time frame, and the congressional map is going to be “contentious,” she said.

Prior to the vote, Senators heard hours of testimony from Nebraskans across three public hearings in all 3 congressional districts. On Tuesday, members of the Redistricting Committee were in Grand Island were testimony largely focused on opposition to removal of any legislative districts in the western half of the state. Under both maps, by Senator Linehan and Senator Wayne, at least one district would move to the Omaha metro area. on Wednesday members met at the Capitol, were testimony largely, like the hearing in Omaha on Thursday, focused on opposition to maps perceived as 'gerrymandering', especially by those who felt congressional maps may impact Nebraska's 'blue dot', referring to the 2nd district which Joe Biden received one of Nebraska's electoral votes in 2020.

Senators began debating LB1, Senator Linehan's congressional map on Friday. Members are expected to take up Legislative maps next week.