(CNN) CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers shot back Wednesday at Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's argument that race is the "hidden reason" behind a desire to abolish the Electoral College.

Sellers, who served in the South Carolina legislature, told CNN's Don Lemon that, "if you close your eyes, you believe that you are listening to a clip from 1968 or apartheid South Africa."

O'Reilly argued Tuesday on his nightly program, "The O'Reilly Factor," that -- if the Electoral College was abolished -- candidates would secure a majority by campaigning in coastal cities, ignoring the Midwest and Southern states.

He added that those calling for the Electoral College to be dismantled were attempting to take power from the "white establishment."

.@Bakari_Sellers: We don't want anything from white nationalists. All we want is human dignity and equity. https://t.co/WpAj9i7FrQ — CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) December 22, 2016

"The left wants power taken away from the white establishment," O'Reilly said.

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