In her 10th trip to Georgia since taking office, Harris didn’t roll out new policies or promise that she and President Joe Biden will back a sweeping new effort to break a congressional logjam over federal voting rights legislation.

But she pledged to counter what she called a “full-on intent to attack fundamental freedoms and rights in our country” as about a dozen voting rights advocates, including U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath and Nikema Williams, nodded in agreement.

Republicans greeted the visit with a vigorous defense of the state’s election system, including the controversial 2021 law that restricts drop boxes, requires additional forms of ID for absentee voting and shortens absentee ballot application deadlines.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger called the state a “national leader in elections” and demanded that Harris and Biden “issue an apology to the voters of Georgia for continuing to push election disinformation.”

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Credit: Miguel Martinez

And Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican elected in 2022 with Donald Trump’s support, said Harris was intent on tearing down “Georgia’s commonsense election laws.”

“Maybe instead of coming to Georgia to lecture us about Georgia,” he said, “she should visit the southern border and work on fixing the real problem she and Joe Biden created.”

A 2024 battleground

Harris’ visit to Georgia is part of an opening 2024 campaign swing designed to energize Black voters who helped fuel Biden’s 2020 victory even as key parts of their “racial equity” platform have failed to pass.

Congress blocked a federal voting rights bill that Biden and Harris have long championed, and there’s no sign of a legislative thaw. State Republicans, meanwhile, could consider significant changes to voting laws during the legislative session that began this week.

And voting rights groups have suffered recent court defeats, including a ruling that found mass challenges to voters’ eligibility in Georgia didn’t violate federal law and another that upheld GOP-drawn political maps.

Some advocates hope the visit also served as a sign that the campaign is poised to invest more heavily in Georgia, one of the few competitive 2024 states. The latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll echoes other national surveys showing Biden in a tight race against Trump and other top GOP contenders.

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Republicans have promised to pour tremendous resources into Georgia, which they consider a must-win to recapture the White House in November, and they have stepped up voter outreach initiatives in hopes of surpassing the Democratic mobilization efforts.

“Georgia organizers did more with less in 2020. Compared with many other battleground states, Georgia received a fraction of the voter protection resources provided by the campaign,” said state Rep. Saira Draper, who once headed the state Democratic Party’s voter protection arm.

“But the landscape has changed since 2020,” Draper said, “and anything short of full support by the Biden-Harris campaign in Georgia won’t cut it.”

Williams, who also chairs the state Democratic Party, said the event was part of an “ongoing conversation” to expand ballot access.

“This was a working session. This wasn’t about a photo opportunity,” she said. “It’s about what we need to do to move forward.”

Harris, for her part, invoked the 2021 U.S. Senate runoff victories of Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock as she encouraged voting rights activists to keep up their work.

“We are inspired by what you’ve been doing here on the ground,” Harris said, “because we know that in spite of the obstacles, the people have expressed their desire and will to participate in the future of their country and their government.”