In the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore won the popular vote.

However, it was George W. Bush who was sworn in as president of the United States on January 20, 2001.

FairVote, a national non-partisan non-profit organization, is working to make sure that never happens again.

The organization will host an information session at NCCU Monday at 7 p.m. in room 105 of the Edmonds Classroom Building.

The United States uses a complex system to elect its presidents. State popular voting determines the vote of that state’s Electoral College members.

A presidential candidate needs a minimum of 270 Electoral College votes to win the election.

According to the Federal Elections Commission, Bush won 271 electoral votes and Gore won 266, but Gore received 543,897 more popular votes than Bush.

FairVote, founded by Stanford University professor John Koza in 1992, aims to give the national popular vote the final say in who gets elected president.

Torrey Dixon, N.C. director for FairVote, said he plans to bring students up to speed on efforts to promote national popular vote.

Dixon said it’s in African Americans’ best interest to support this measure.

“This is a way to get people involved in a movement,” he added.

“The Electoral College is set up to work against minorities,” said Dixon.

“It was initially used to help Southern states. Now it hurts them.”

Under the Electoral College system, states are won by the candidate with the majority of the votes in that state.

With the proposed system, whether or not the candidate wins that state, whoever wins the national popular vote is awarded that state’s electoral votes.

At Monday’s event, Dixon plans to discuss instant runoff voting, a voting procedure that allows voters to rank candidates in the order of their preference.

This voting procedure would prevent the “wasted vote” phenomena that happens when a third party candidate runs for office.

A bill proposing instant runoff voting is supported by both primary frontrunners Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

NCCU professor Jarvis Hall said campaigns would be different if the outcome was determined by popular vote.

“It wouldn’t matter if a candidate wins any state at all.

“It will all depend on the national popular vote,” said Hall.

In May 2007, the N.C. Senate approved a measure supporting national popular vote and instant runoff voting.

The N.C. House of Representatives will vote on the bill in May.

Similar bills have already passed in four other states.

Dixon said FairVote will change this so every American has a fair chance at democracy. More information about the organization and the event is available at 919-286-5985.