Vice President Kamala Harris told Black Entertainment Television’s Soledad O’Brien Friday that there are “380 laws that are being presented” that are intended “to deprive, in particular Black and Brown,” individuals “access to voting.” Harris explicitly denounced certain voter ID laws, stating that it is “almost impossible” for Americans living in rural communities to “photocopy” their ID using a copy machine.
“I don’t think we should underestimate what that could mean,” Harris said, referring to voter ID laws. “Because in some people’s minds that means, well, you’re going to have xerox or photocopy your ID to send it in to prove who you are.”
“There are a lot of people, especially those who live in rural communities, [where] there is no Kinko’s, there’s no Office Max near them,” Harris said. “People have to understand that when we’re talking about voter ID laws be clear about who you have in mind and what would be required of them to prove who they are.”
Twitter users were quick to lambast Harris’s statement. (RELATED: POLL: 80% of Americans Support Photo ID For Voters, 71% Support ‘Easier’ Early Voting)
Texas congressional candidate Jenny Garcia challenged the logic of Harris’s stance, stating, “You have to prove who you are to buy a pack of cigarettes or a case of beer,” but “no need to prove who you are to vote.”
You have to prove who you are to buy a pack of cigarettes or a case of beer but no no no need to prove who you are to vote.
— Jenny Garcia Sharon (@jenny4congress) July 10, 2021
Journalist Assad Hanna questioned if the vice president had “ever been in a Rural area.” (RELATED: Biden Taps Kamala Harris To Lead Administration’s Voting Rights Efforts As Democratic Hopes Fizzle In Senate)
has she ever been in a Rural area????
— Asaad Hanna (@AsaadHannaa) July 10, 2021
Mark McCloskey, a candidate for the Senate who gained notoriety after he and his wife brandished their guns to discourage a mob of BLM protestors from trespassing on and potentially destroying their property, stated that Harris’s claims represent “bigotry of low expectations.”
“I thought it was that Americans couldn’t get IDs to vote. Now they can’t even get a printer, apparently,” McCloskey tweeted.
I thought it was that Americans couldn’t get IDs to vote. Now they can’t even get a printer, apparently.
This is the bigotry of low expectations. https://t.co/3mtGSufyIK
— Mark McCloskey (@mccloskeyusa) July 12, 2021
GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel believed Harris’s statement was indicative of “how out-of-touch today’s Democrat party is.”
Your daily reminder of how out-of-touch today’s Democrat party is.
https://t.co/k9y4ckS3t8— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) July 11, 2021
Jessica Taylor, a candidate for the Senate, said Harris’s views are demonstrative of her disdain for “rural America” and that the vice president is “so out of touch.”
Kamala’s disdain for AL and rural America could not be more clear. She’s so out of touch she probably doesn’t think we’ve got electricity and running water out here! Shame on you, Kamala. We need people in DC with Alabama values, not woke liberal coastal elite values. #alpolitics https://t.co/E9WOnRBQVW pic.twitter.com/g6czIrEFfS
— Jessica Taylor (@JessicaTaylorAL) July 11, 2021
Radio show host Stacy Washington chose to attack the statement with humor, tweeting, “Like most ‘hicks in the sticks’ we own a PRINTER!”
Like most “hicks in the sticks” we own a PRINTER! https://t.co/0ygK3ou4lx
— Stacy Washington (@StacyOnTheRight) July 11, 2021
Many users, including former UFC fighter Nik Lentz, drew attention to the existence of smartphones. Lentz sarcastically wished for “a device that took pictures” which “everyone carries.”
If only there was a device that took pictures everyone carries…. Some day
— Nik “The Carny” Lentz (@NikLentz) July 10, 2021
In July, the Supreme Court upheld two Arizona voting laws. Justice Samuel Alito, in the majority opinion, wrote that “Mere inconvenience cannot be enough to demonstrate a violation” of the law, according to NBC.