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Al Gore Comes Out Against Electoral College

Al Gore / AP
November 30, 2016

Former Vice President Al Gore said on Tuesday the U.S. should kill the Electoral College and instead decide presidential elections by popular vote.

Gore said while he has advocated for the institution since losing the presidency to George W. Bush in 2000 despite winning the popular vote, his views have now shifted.

"After the Supreme Court decision in 2000, I continued to support the Electoral College because the original purpose was to tie the states together," Gore said at an event in Washington, D.C., according to NBC News. "I have changed my view on that. I do think that it should be eliminated."

Gore said abolishing the Electoral College would "stimulate public participation in the democratic process like nothing else we could possibly do."

His comments come as efforts to abolish the institution have reignited following the election of Donald Trump, who failed to win the popular vote on Nov. 8. Hillary Clinton received two million more votes than Trump, according to the Cook Political Report, but lost the election by 74 electoral votes.

Anti-Trump forces, primarily made up of Democrats, have launched a lobbying effort targeted at persuading 37 Republican electors to cast their vote on Dec. 19 for a candidate other than Trump, according to Politico. The group plans to challenge laws in the 29 states that require electors to back their party's candidate.

"I think moving to a popular vote system is not without peril, is not without problems, it's not a simple one choice is all good, the other is all bad. It's a balancing act. But I think the balance has shifted, in my mind at least, and I think that we should go to a popular vote," Gore said.