Free and Fair Elections

A citizen’s right to vote through free and fair elections is the centerpiece of representative democracy and is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

To preserve our democracy, it is essential that we work toward an accessible registration and voting process for every citizen, regardless of race, gender, or economic status.

Donald Trump and the Republican Party have positioned themselves in opposition to this core principle, arguing – without evidence ever since Republicans in Florida first adopted this tactic in the 2000 Gore-v-Bush election – that voting fraud is commonplace and has corrupted election outcomes. After the 2020 election, Trump refused to accept his loss. Sixty court decisions, many by Republican-appointed judges, determined that accusations of fraud were false. Many of the decisions called the claims “ludicrous.” Trump then broke with our foundational principle of the peaceful transfer of power, embraced by every U.S. President since George Washington, by pressuring election officials to change vote counts and, on January 6, 2021, inciting a riot intended to prevent certification by Congress of the election. 

Trump continues to dispute the outcome of that election, still without providing any evidence. His deliberate spread of false information about election fraud has led to new legislation in many states to eliminate election safeguards, make voting more difficult (particularly for communities composed primarily of people of color), purge names from voter rolls, and also to increasing levels of intimidation of election officials and poll workers, particularly in swing states.

Kamala Harris is squarely in the mold of every winner (and loser) of every other Presidential election in American history, respecting the will of the people no matter the outcome. She is ready to certify, in her role as Vice President, Donald Trump as U.S. President if he were to win this election. Donald Trump, already a convicted felon for fraudulent business practices, stands as the sole major-party candidate for President over nearly 250 years to fail to uphold this basic Constitutional principle. 

Harris

Kamala Harris supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would ensure that states and jurisdictions that have violated voting rights in the past cannot make changes in their voting laws without federal approval. 

Harris also supports the Freedom to Vote Act. This bill includes provisions that would make voter registration easier, expand early voting and vote-by-mail. Other provisions address campaign financing, voter purging, and gerrymandering – the practice of designing Congressional districts around voter residential patterns to protect the interests of the political party in power. Republicans are united in their opposition to both of these bills.

Trump

Donald Trump’s definition of a free and fair election is one where he wins. Along with his running mate JD Vance, Trump continues, without providing any evidence whatsoever, to dispute the outcome of the 2020 election. Trump will not commit to accepting the outcome of the upcoming presidential election if he loses. He has made supporting this lie a litmus test for Republicans seeking office nationwide.

Trump’s Republican party knows it is out of step with majorities of voters on many important issues (reproductive rights, climate change, gun laws, and preserving Social Security and Medicare among them).

Rather than revise the party platform to win over more voters, Republicans are focused on changing election rules so that a shrunken electorate works more in their favor. These are facts, not perceptions.

Trump supports requirements for same-day voting, voter identification, and proof of citizenship. The Republican party’s official platform includes measures for Voter ID requirements and proof of citizenship, which are tactics known to discourage voter participation, particularly among minority groups. The platform also reads: “We will not allow the Democrats to give Voting Rights to illegal Aliens.”  There has been no effort by Democrats to give non-citizens voting rights; that is already illegal.