Democratic Party presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke has said “there’s a lot of wisdom” in scrapping the Electoral College system because it puts some states out of play in presidential elections.

Mr O’Rourke made the comments on 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.

Beto O'Rourke
Beto O’Rourke in Pennsylvania (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

The Texan suggested 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 three million popular votes in 2016, yet Mr Trump won the Electoral College to capture the White House.

New Zeland Attack
Donald Trump won the Electoral College, despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton (Brian Lawless/PA)

Also on Tuesday, US Senator Elizabeth Warren reiterated her support for eliminating the Electoral College while on her Democratic presidential campaign swing through Selma, Alabama.

Mr Trump achieved his victory against Mrs Clinton by winning the popular vote narrowly in several swing states, notably in the rust belt, thus taking all the Electoral College votes for those states despite the narrow margins of victory.