Beto O’Rourke Sees Wisdom In Scrapping Electoral College
Mar 19, 2019, 1:00 PM | Updated: Jun 8, 2022, 5:14 pm
DUBUQUE, IOWA - MARCH 16: Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke shakes hands as he arrives at a packed St. Patrick's Day party at the home of County Recorder John Murphy March 16, 2019 in Dubuque, Iowa. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Former U.S. representative and presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke says “there’s a lot of wisdom” in scrapping the Electoral College system because it puts some states out of play in presidential elections.
O’Rourke made the comments Tuesday after speaking to a college-campus crowd of hundreds in Pennsylvania, a late-voting state that may yet play a role in the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential primary contest.
The Texan suggests that changing the Constitution to adopt a popular vote for president would ensure that every voter counts.
Democrat Hillary Clinton beat Republican Donald Trump by nearly 3 million popular votes in 2016, yet Trump won the Electoral College to capture the White House.
Also Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts reiterated her support for eliminating the Electoral College while on her Democratic presidential campaign swing through Selma, Alabama.
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Associated Press writer Elana Schor in Selma, Alabama, contributed to this report.
