After receiving a round of high-profile endorsements — although not a single primary vote — Vice President Kamala Harris is the likely Democratic nominee for president. But as Biden’s voting czar, Harris owns a record of federal meddling in elections and attacking election integrity laws.
President Joe Biden tapped Harris to lead the administration’s efforts related to voting shortly after taking office.
The Biden-Harris administration has vehemently opposed measures to safeguard elections such as voter ID laws and laws preventing foreign nationals from voting in federal elections. Harris, both as a senator and vice president, has been vocal about her determination to dismantle any semblance of security in elections — a frightening foreshadowing of what could be to come should she win in November.
Federal Election Meddling
President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14019 in March of 2021, directing federal agencies to meddle in elections by creating plans to “promote voter registration and voter participation.” The crux of the operation is that the agencies use taxpayer dollars — which were never appropriated for such a function by Congress — to target voting populations that are likely to vote for Democrats.
One of the agencies carrying out the “Bidenbucks” order is the Department of Education, which issued a memo in February announcing Federal Work-Study funds could be used to pay students at government agencies to register voters or serve as poll watchers. Harris touted this program in a speech the following day.
Harris launched a “Fight for our Freedoms College Tour” last September that also included mobilizing young voters — a pretty partisan enterprise when you consider that more than 6 in 10 voters aged 18-29 voted for Biden in 2020.
The Biden-Harris White House is also meddling in elections via the Department of Health and Human Services, which complied with the administration’s order by emailing instructions to everyone enrolling in the Affordable Care Act on “how to register to vote,” as Harris bragged during her February speech.
Several lawsuits have challenged the constitutionality of the federal election interference operation, but for now, it continues to use federal taxpayer dollars to conduct a get-out-the-vote operation designed to benefit Democrats.
Support for a Federal Takeover of Elections
Democrats have repeatedly tried to revive the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would strip states and local jurisdictions of much of their control over elections and allow the weaponized Department of Justice to override election integrity laws.
The legislation would, for instance, permit the Justice Department to effectively seize control of elections where a voter ID law has been passed, as The Heritage Foundation explained. The Biden-Harris Department of Justice has been clear about its stance on voter ID laws, with Attorney General Merrick Garland boasting this year of the department’s efforts to challenge “voter ID requirements.”
Then there is the Freedom To Vote Act, which would, among other things, require same-day voter registration and enact automatic voter registration in each state.
Harris has repeatedly called on Congress to pass both pieces of legislation as both a senator and vice president. She also co-sponsored the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act while in the Senate.
In 2021, Democrats also tried to push through H.R. 1, an 800-page bill that would overhaul our election system as we know it, as explained by The Federalist’s Joy Pullmann. Among other things, H.R. 1 would mandate mail-in ballots, delay election results by requiring states to accept ballots for 10 days after Election Day, prevent cleanup of voter rolls, and mandate the insecure practice of ballot drop boxes. Harris vowed to “fight” for the legislation and to work with Congress to get the legislation passed.
Attacks on Election Integrity Laws
Harris has also used falsehoods to smear states like Georgia for their strong election integrity laws.
The Peach State passed the Election Integrity Act of 2021, which included several provisions to safeguard elections such as requiring voters to show an ID to get an absentee ballot. In-person voters were already required to provide identification.
Another provision prohibits “line warming,” which is when an individual hands out gifts, food, or water to voters waiting in line to persuade him. The legislation makes clear that poll officers can still provide “self-service water” for “an elector waiting in line to vote,” in addition to voters bringing their own food and drink.
Nonetheless, during a January roundtable, Harris smeared the legislation as one of Republicans’ “anti-voter laws” and claimed the law “made it illegal to even provide food and water to people standing in line often for hours.”
Harris’ record is clear: As Biden’s voting czar, she has routinely opposed attempts to secure American elections and protect election integrity.
