VP Harris: Republicans ‘Don’t Want You to Vote’

Vice president announces DNC is investing additional $25M in voting rights initiative

Continuing what is becoming an ongoing part of her portfolio, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a no-holds-barred speech on the vitally crucial matter of voting rights.

She also announced a new, additional $25 million Democratic National Committee (DNC) initiative to bolster voting rights and voter access.

Voting rights has become such a prominent issue in recent months as Republicans across the country have been passing new state laws aimed at imposing restrictions on the ability of Americans — particularly Black and other Americans of color — to cast their ballots.

These new state laws are prompted by former president Donald Trump's “Big Lie,” the baseless assertion that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him due to massive Democratic fraud.

“This all is designed, I believe, to make it harder for you to vote, so that you don’t vote. And let’s talk about what exactly these laws will do. What will they actually do? Well, let’s say in the last election you may have voted early because you work long hours. Well, these laws will cut early voting. Let’s say your cousin voted by mail to avoid the long lines. Well, these laws will cut vote by mail. Say your coworker, say your friend next to you, friend, voted in person on Election Day and put on that sticker with pride. Well, these laws will make it difficult for folks who wait in line. These laws create obstacle upon obstacle. These laws make it harder for you to vote, because they don’t want you to vote,” Harris said. “And so, I will say again. Your vote matters. Your voice matters. Your will matters. Your desire for yourself and your families matters. And regardless of who you are, where you live, what party you belong to, your vote matters. Your vote is your power.

“And so I say, don’t let anybody ever take your power from you. Don’t let anybody take your power from you, especially the power of your voice,” Harris added. “We will not let anyone take away our power, and that’s why we are all here together today. We’re not gonna let that happen.”

The Democratic Party plans to backup the vice president's words with action through an additional $25 million investment by the DNC.

"Jamie Harrison, thank you for your leadership and on that point, today I am pleased to announce that the Democrats are making a $25 million investment to expand the ‘I Will Vote’ campaign,” Harris said to cheering and applause, referring to the chairman of the DNC. “This campaign is grounded in the firm belief that everyone’s vote matters. That your vote matters.

“And we saw this in 2020. More Americans turned out to vote than ever before, in the middle of a pandemic. America, you massed up. You mailed in your ballots. You did not let anything stop you from making your voice heard,” she added.

“I Will Vote”

The $25 million announced today is in addition to the initial $20 million investment that Harrison already announced the DNC will make before the midterm elections in 2022.

Areas for investment in “I Will Vote” include:

Voter registration: “As we fight back against some of the most egregious attacks on voters and voting rights in decades, it’s critically important that the party apparatus also invest in targeted voter registration efforts where specific needs are identified, where voters from particular backgrounds have been targeted with difficult registration requirements, or where states have made it more difficult for nonprofit organizations to be involved,” said a DNC news release about the initiative.

Voter protection: “‘I Will Vote’ will fund the largest Voter Protection team ever assembled at the DNC, which for the first time will include state-level coverage and analytics capacity,” the news release said. “The Biden-Harris team and the DNC have a strong history of fighting to protect the right to vote, using the courts to ensure access to the polls, and defending the rights of voters, including numerous lawsuits brought to mitigate election laws that disproportionately affect people of color. In the wake of the 2020 election, we also worked to defeat challenges to the validity of the election. We will continue to use litigation as a tool to protect voters and to support our democracy.”

Voter education: “The DNC will commit millions to television and digital advertising, especially digital communications, to better educate voters on how to participate — how to register and where and when to vote,” the release said. “In an effort to reach new and younger voters and diverse constituencies, the DNC will partner with social media creators across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to highlight what President Biden and Democrats have achieved, and what they can do to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot.”

Tools & technology: “The Biden-Harris team will fund the largest tech team in the history of the DNC. The team will use data and other tools to identify and contact voters affected by suppression efforts and voter roll purges, to ensure that all eligible voters have the information they need to cast a ballot,” the release said. “These investments will make sure that staff across the country have easy-to use-and actionable information on voters who have been moved to inactive lists or removed from voter rolls.”