`美国副总统卡玛拉•哈里斯周四宣布，民主党全国委员会将向其投票权倡议追加投资2500万美元，突显出拜登-哈里斯政府对一项已成为该党口号的事业的承诺。
哈里斯在两面美国国旗的护卫下说:“这场竞选基于这样一个坚定的信念，即每个人的投票都很重要——你的投票也很重要。
哈里斯宣布了这一消息，并呼吁采取行动，让她的母校哈佛大学(HBCU)的投票结果出来。她在开场白中说，“回家真好。”地点也很重要，因为民主党人认为，在全国各地的立法机构中出现的共和党投票法案有可能压制包括黑人选民在内的历史上被剥夺权利的社区。
新:副总统。卡玛拉•哈里斯宣布，民主党全国委员会将向投票权计划追加投资2500万美元。"这场运动基于一个坚定的信念，即每个人的投票都很重要。"https://t.co/DDCW92811Upic.twitter.com/pJe1IbOIOZ
—美国广播公司新闻(@美国广播公司)2021年7月8日
“我想明确一点，这关乎所有选民，关乎所有选民。这不是关于民主党人或共和党人——这是关于美国人，让我们明确这一点，”哈里斯说。“我们希望帮助确保你们的选票被计算在内，这是因为当每个人都参与进来时，我们的民主是最强大的...当人们被排除在外时，我们作为一个国家的民主就更弱了。”
早在6月，美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)宣布，他任命哈里斯(Harris)领导政府保护投票权的努力，但在国会，全面立法的努力已经停滞。
哈里斯周四表示:“各位，捍卫自己的权利永远不会太早。“随着这些新法律的通过，或者他们正在努力，我们必须从现在开始，以强结束。”
她还提到了“德州正在发生的事情”——这是对周四在那里开始的特别立法会议的肯定。州立法者在“选举安全”法案上意见不一，民主党人认为该法案限制了投票。民主党州议员在5月下旬举行了一次罢工，抗议共和党的倡议，打破了法定人数，扼杀了之前的一项法案。
民主党全国委员会主席海梅·哈里森此前宣布向该倡议提供2000万美元的初始承诺，名为“我将投票”美国优先事项是最大的民主党超级政治行动委员会之一，它提起了超过15起以投票为中心的案件，它还承诺提供2000万美元，用于打击限制进入投票箱的行为。
副总统。卡玛拉•哈里斯对那些可能会说在下次选举前讨论投票权为时过早的人说:“我们以前从未真正这么早开始。但是各位，捍卫自己的权利永远不会太早。”https://t.co/Wju5RLJEvPpic.twitter.com/1h41kH79VS
—美国广播公司新闻(@美国广播公司)2021年7月8日
拜登和哈里斯周四晚些时候还在白宫会见了民权领袖，讨论了投票权和通过《乔治·弗洛伊德治安司法法案》的努力。全国有色人种协进会、全国城市联盟和国家行动网络等组织的代表出席了会议。
据民主党全国委员会称，这2500万美元将用于资助选民教育和保护工作、有针对性的选民登记和技术，以提高投票的可及性，并打击“共和党前所未有的压制选民的努力”。
“共和党人知道他们的政策不受欢迎——他们保住权力的唯一方法是攻击宪法赋予他们的投票权，这些投票权由他们发誓要服务的人持有。这就是为什么共和党做出了前所未有的努力来阻止人们投票，”哈里森在一份声明中说。“我已经一次又一次地说过，‘民主党’代表着交付，今天我们正在交付创新和历史性的资源来保护我们民主的这一基本部分。”
在回应这一消息的声明中，共和党全国委员会指责民主党人散布谎言来推进他们自己的议程。
“在推动联邦接管选举的绝望努力中，民主党人继续对美国人民撒谎。民主党人拒绝和共和党人一起支持像选民身份证这样的常识性政策，因为他们唯一的议程是更多的权力和党派控制，”RNC通讯主任丹妮尔·Á·阿尔瓦雷斯说。
民主党全国委员会投资之际，共和党正在全国范围内努力通过被共和党议员称为“选举诚信”的法律，这些法律通常会收紧投票限制，限制进入投票箱。支持这些法案的共和党人经常指出选民对美国选举的信任度下降，但未能解决前总统唐纳德·特朗普一再试图破坏2020年选举的问题，他谎称存在大规模选民欺诈，并声称他实际上在11月获胜。
根据无党派的布伦南正义中心的分析，仅在2021年的立法会议上，全国各地的州议员就提出了近400项法案，其中包括限制性投票条款。至少有17个州，大部分是共和党领导的州，颁布了今年有28项新法律至少部分限制了选民的投票。
在联邦层面，民主党试图反击这些新颁布的法律的努力已经停滞。6月，参议院共和党人团结一致，阻止民主党人的“为人民法案”，该法案将为全国制定统一的投票和选举标准。这一结果是意料之中的，但它提醒人们，尽管拜登承诺“这场斗争远未结束”，但获得60票通过民主党人认为对保护美国人宪法投票权至关重要的立法可能被证明是不可能的。
诉讼被证明是民主党人挑战各州新选举法的唯一途径之一。“为了人民法案”在参议院失败几天后，司法部长梅里克·加兰宣布，司法部就佐治亚州3月底通过的新投票权法对该州提起诉讼。还有另外七起针对该法案的联邦诉讼，共和党州长布莱恩·坎普(Brian Kemp)为该法案辩护称，该法案“投票容易，作弊难。”
共和党全国委员会和共和党全国参议院委员会介入了司法部的案件，称其“有信心”法院将驳回DOJ的论点，并援引了最高法院上周在亚利桑那州支持两项限制性法律的重大投票权案件中的裁决，即DNC诉Brnovich。
Kamala Harris announces DNC investing additional $25 million in voting rights initiative
Vice President Kamala Harris announced on Thursday that the Democratic National Committee is investing an additional $25 million in its voting rights initiative, underscoring the Biden-Harris administration's commitment to a cause that has become a rallying cry for the party.
"This campaign is grounded in the firm belief that everyone's vote matters -- that your vote matters," Harris said, flanked by two American flags.
Harris made the announcement and call to action to get out the vote at her alma mater, Howard Unversity, an HBCU, kicking off remarks by saying it's "so good to be home." The location was also significant in that Democrats have argued that Republican voting bills popping up in legislatures across the country are threatening to suppress historically disenfranchised communities, including Black voters.
NEW: Vice Pres. Kamala Harris announces the DNC is investing an additional $25 million in voting rights initiative."This campaign is grounded in the firm belief that everyone's vote matters."https://t.co/DDCW92811Upic.twitter.com/pJe1IbOIOZ
— ABC News (@ABC)July 8, 2021
"I want to make clear that this is about all voters, it's about all voters. This is not about Democrats or Republicans -- it's about Americans, let's be clear about that," Harris said. "We want to help to make sure your vote is counted, and that is because our democracy is strongest when everyone participates and ... our democracy as a nation is weaker, when people are left out."
Back in June, President Joe Biden announced he tapped Harris to lead the administration's efforts to protect voting rights, but efforts for sweeping legislation at the federal level have stalled in Congress.
"Folks, it is never too early to defend your rights," Harris said Thursday. "With these new laws that have been passed, or they're trying to, we have to start now to finish strong."
She also referred to "what’s going on in Texas right now” -- a nod to the special legislative session kicking off there Thursday. State legislators are at odds over an "election security" bill that Democrats argue restricts voting access. Democratic state lawmakers staged a walkout in late May to protest the GOP initiative, killing a previous bill by breaking quorum.
DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison previously announced a $20 million initial commitment to the initiative, called "I Will Vote." Priorities USA, one of the largest Democratic super PACs that litigated over 15 voting-centric cases, has also committed $20 million to fighting efforts to curtail access to the ballot box.
Vice Pres. Kamala Harris on those who might say it is "too early" to discuss voting rights so far ahead of next election: "We have never really started this early before. But folks—it is never too early to defend your rights."https://t.co/Wju5RLJEvPpic.twitter.com/1h41kH79VS
— ABC News (@ABC)July 8, 2021
Biden and Harris also met with civil rights leaders at the White House later Thursday to discuss voting rights and the effort to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Representatives from the NAACP, National Urban League and National Action Network, among others, attended.
The $25 million will be used to fund voter education and protection efforts, targeted voter registration and technology to increase voting accessibility and combat "Republicans’ unprecedented voter suppression efforts," according to the DNC.
"Republicans know that their policies are unpopular — and that the only way for them to hold on to power is to attack the constitutional right to vote, held by the people they swore to serve. That’s why the Republican Party has made unprecedented efforts to keep people from voting," Harrison said in a statement. "I’ve said time and again that the 'D' in Democrat stands for deliver, and today we are delivering innovative and historic resources to protect this fundamental part of our democracy."
In a statement reacting to the news, the Republican National Committee accused Democrats of spreading falsehoods to further their own agenda.
"In a desperate effort to push their federal takeover of elections, Democrats continue to lie to the American people. Democrats refuse to join Republicans in supporting common-sense policies like voter ID, because their sole agenda is more power and partisan control," RNC Communications Director Danielle Álvarez said.
The DNC investment comes amid a nationwide Republican effort to pass what the GOP lawmakers call "election integrity" laws that often tighten voting restrictions and limit access to the ballot box. Republicans endorsing these bills often point to the diminished trust among voters in U.S. elections but fail to address former President Donald Trump's repeated attempts to undermine the 2020 election by falsely claiming there was mass voter fraud and that he actually won in November.
In the 2021 legislative sessions alone, state lawmakers across the country introduced nearly 400 bills that include restrictive voting provisions, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice's analysis. At least 17, mostly GOP-led states,have enacted28 new laws this year that at least in part restrict voter access.
On the federal level, Democrats' attempts to fight back against these newly enacted laws have stalled. In June, Senate Republicans were united in blocking Democrats' "For The People Act," which would enact uniform voting and election standards for the nation. That outcome was expected, but it served as a reminder that garnering 60 votes to pass legislation Democrats consider critical to protecting Americans' constitutional right to vote may prove to be impossible despite Biden's pledge that "this fight is far from over."
Litigation is proving to be one of the only ways Democrats can challenge states' new election laws. Days after the "For The People Act" failed in the Senate, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia for its new voting rights law, passed in late March. There are seven other federal lawsuits targeting that bill, which Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has defended as making it "easy to vote and hard to cheat."
The Republican National Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee intervened in the Justice Department's case, saying it was "confident" the courts would reject the DOJ's arguments, referencing the Supreme Court's ruling last week in a major voting rights case upholding two restrictive laws out of Arizona, DNC v. Brnovich.
