Article: Electoral-college system means winning popular vote might not be enough.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

WASHINGTON _ Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore are in a race for president so close that one of them could win the most votes on Election Day and still wind up losing the White House.

Such a troubling outcome at the dawn of the 21st Century is possible because of an 18th Century compromise between some founders of the nation who wanted Congress to choose the president and others who wanted a direct popular vote.

They created what came to be known as the Electoral College, a system under which each state's presidential vote is awarded, mostly winner-take-all, to electors who in turn actually select the president.

If Bush or Gore ...

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