WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris rallied an audience at Howard University in a powerful defense of voting rights and the need to ensure that all American voices are heard in the political process. 

Speaking at Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library, Harris addressed members of the Howard community, local community organizers and volunteers for civil rights organizations. The Howard alumna spoke about her party’s efforts to combat voter suppression and protect voting rights nationwide. At the campus event, Harris unveiled a $25 million expansion of the Democratic National Committee’s “I Will Vote” initiative to address and overcome efforts across the country to make voting more difficult and burdensome.

“Your vote matters. Your voice matters. Your will matters,” Harris said. “Your desire for yourself and your families matters, and regardless of who you are, where you live, or what party you belong to, your vote matters. Your vote is your power, and I say don’t ever let anyone take your power from you.”

The event was one of the first major visits by Harris to Howard's campus since taking office. It also represented the first major public event held on campus since the pandemic began. Harris’ remarks at Howard University come in the midst of political efforts to pass restrictive voting laws across the country. 

In her remarks, Harris said that 17 state legislatures so far this year have enacted 28 new laws that will make it harder for Americans to vote. She said the laws curtail early voting and voting by mail and add new burdens for people waiting in lines to vote.

“These bills have become law; they are now on the books,” Harris said, adding that these laws “make it harder for you to vote because they don’t want you to vote.”

The Howard alumna has proven throughout her career that she can take on the tough assignments, and she believes deeply that our democracy is stronger when more people are able to participate, not fewer.

Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick praised Harris for delivering a powerful and passionate defense of voting rights as protections come under assault around the country.  

“Howard University has always been at the forefront of defending the franchise for the African-American community whenever it has come under threat,” President Frederick said. “It was incredibly uplifting for Vice President Harris, a Howard alumna, to speak from our campus in defense of this unassailable right.” 

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About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

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