Don Lemon Calls for Electoral College to Be Scrapped: 'Blow up the Entire System'

CNN host Don Lemon has called for radical reform of the U.S. political system to hand more power to voters and away from a "minority" who he said were able to shape the makeup of the courts and the White House.

In a discussion with fellow host Chris Cuomo, he suggested scrapping the Electoral College system which critics say is fundamentally undemocratic and has resulted in two of the last five presidents winning the election without a majority of the popular vote.

"We're going to have to blow up the entire system," Lemon said, arguing a victory for Joe Biden on November 3 would allow Democrats to tip the balance in favour of passing a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College.

Cuomo responded: "I don't know about that. You've just got to vote."

Lemon continued: "And you know what we're going to have to do, honestly, from what your closing argument is, you're going to have to get rid of the Electoral College," to which Cuomo replied: "I don't see it."

Lemon added: "The minority in this country decides who the judges are and they decide who the president is. Is that fair?"

Cuomo responded: "We'll need a constitutional amendment to do that," prompting Lemon to reply: "And if Joe Biden wins, Democrats can stack the courts and they can do that amendment and they can get it passed."

Cuomo replied: "Well you need two-thirds vote in the congress and three quarters of the state legislatures."

"Well they may be able to do that," said Lemon.

Donald Trump won the 2016 election despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly three million ballots.

Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have called for the abolition of the Electoral College to ensure "every vote matters."

Analysis published last year suggested Trump could win re-election in 2020 while still losing the popular ballot by as many as five million votes.

Scrapping the Electoral College would require a constitutional amendment with support from two-thirds of the House and the Senate and three quarters (38) of states.

Another route for legislators would be to use a constitutional convention, requiring backing from three-quarters of state legislatures.

Debate over the U.S. political and justice system has intensified in recent days after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Trump has expressed a desire to install his nomination in the nation's top court before November 3, telling reporters before leaving for Ohio on Monday afternoon that he would "rather see it all take place before the election."