Kamala Harris resets trip to Detroit for next week, will address voting rights
Washington — Vice President Kamala Harris has rescheduled her trip to Detroit for Monday after her previous travel was postponed following massive flooding in the area in late June.
The White House said Wednesday Harris still plans to urge Michiganians to get vaccinated against COVID-19 while in the state, but will also discuss voting rights in Detroit.
Harris had been set to travel to Michigan on June 28 as part of the national “We Can Do This” tour to urge more Americans to get vaccinated.
Her trip was postponed after Metro Detroit experienced major flooding from a storm that dropped as much as 7 inches of rain in spots and caused major damage, shutting down roads and freeways.
The White House did not detail Harris' schedule for Monday, but President Joe Biden has tasked her with leading the administration’s efforts on voting rights.
The Democratic vice president's visit comes as the Michigan Legislature is considering numerous bills by Republican lawmakers to overhaul the battleground state's election laws after former President Donald Trump lost his reelection campaign to Biden. The package includes new standards for both absentee and in-person voters.
The GOP-led Legislature has introduced dozens of bills this year proposing changes to the state’s voting system, with the Senate introducing 39 at once and the House introducing about 40 over several weeks.
None of the bills have been sent to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who is likely to veto the more controversial proposals.
Some of the more contested bills would require an in-person voter without a photo ID to cast a provisional ballot; require absentee ballot applicants to provide their driver’s license number, state identification number, the last four digits of their Social Security number or a copy of their identification; and block the mailing of unsolicited absentee ballot applications.
Some bills also would increase supervision of ballot drop boxes, ban prepaid absentee ballot return envelope postage and expand canvassing boards in large counties.
Other legislation would require additional training and certification of clerks and poll workers; eliminate May and August election dates and consolidate them in a June primary; and establish polling locations at senior housing facilities and clubhouses.
Opponents of the bills have said many new requirements are politically motivated to benefit Republicans.
Harris recently met with Texas legislators at the White House who earlier this year blocked bills that would have made voting more cumbersome. Her recent trips to Greenville, South Carolina, and Atlanta both included meeting with voting rights advocates.
She is working to build a national coalition of voting rights groups, business leaders, the faith community members to advocate, educate and organize to protect the right to vote, White House officials said.
mburke@detroitnews.com