Harris announces $25 million plan to target GOP voting laws

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Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the Democratic National Committee is making a $25 million investment in countering GOP legislation and laws tightening voting requirements.

The new spending measure is a part of an "I Will Vote Campaign" as the party heads into the 2022 midterm elections and looks to maintain the higher rate of voting that occurred during the 2020 general election. 

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"This is the fight of our nation’s lifetime," Harris said during an event at Howard University in Washington, D.C., a historically Black college and her alma mater.

"I want to make clear that this is about all voters…this is not about Democrats or Republicans, this is about Americans," Harris said. "We want to help you vote, and we want to help make sure your vote is counted. And that is because our democracy is strongest when everyone participates, and it is weaker…when people are left out."

The funds are set to be used to boost voter registration and teach voters about local legislation introduced by state Republican lawmakers along with changes that have been made since voters last hit the ballot boxes.  

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The funds will also be put towards mobilization efforts to encourage the record number of voters who turned out in November to return to the polls for the primary elections.

The vice president did not say if certain states would be prioritized over others.

Harris and President Biden also met Thursday with civil rights leaders to discuss voting in the U.S., along with criminal justice reform.

Democrats face mounting pressure to address voting rights in the U.S. following the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold voting restrictions enacted in Arizona.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito argued that Arizona’s new voting regulations were merely "quintessential examples of the usual burdens of voting."

But Harris said Thursday that the 28 new voting laws implemented across the U.S. served one purpose – to "make it harder for you to vote."

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A slew of voting laws were introduced in GOP-controlled states following President Biden’s win in November 2020, and Republicans have looked to tighten restrictions on how a ballot can be cast. 

GOP concerns heightened during the coronavirus pandemic when mail-in ballots and other practices increased voter turnout and, they say, the potential for fraud.