WASHINGTON — Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris says foreign interference, doubt cast about the election by President Donald Trump and voter suppression could potentially cost her and Joe Biden the White House in November.
“I am a realist about it. Joe is a realist about it,” the California senator said during an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” that aired Sunday.
The 2020 election will be held under challenging circumstances.
It will be the first U.S. election in over a century to be conducted during a pandemic, which is expected to lead to a massive surge in mail voting. Trump has repeatedly railed against mail balloting, which he says without offering proof will lead to widespread voter fraud. And for the first time in decades, both parties will be able to closely scrutinize who casts ballots due to a recent court ruling that wiped out tighter restrictions on poll monitoring.
Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded Russia is once again attempting to interfere in the election by amplifying discord in the country.
That all adds up to a volatile environment that Harris says could alter the outcome.
“We have classic voter suppression, we have what happened in 2016, which is foreign interference. We have a president who is trying to convince the American people not to believe in the integrity of our election system and compromise their belief that their vote might actually count,” Harris said. “These things are all at play.”
When asked directly if foreign interference could cost her and Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, the White House, she said: “Theoretically, of course, yes.”
“I do believe that there will be foreign interference in the 2020 election and that Russia will be at the front of the line,” she said.
Harris also singled out a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that invalidated parts of the Voting Rights Act. She said that’s led some states to pass laws that are intended to limit access to the ballot for racial minorities.
She said if she and Biden win, they will make it a priority to try and restore those provisions.