- Harris made the remarks in an interview with BET News on Friday
- Expressed concern that rural residents don’t have any Kinkos or OfficeMax
- Was discussing rules in some states that require a copy of ID for mail-in votes
- Some rural residents did not appreciate her remark that they can’t photocopy
- The Kinkos brand disappeared 17 years ago in a merger with FedEx
Kamala Harris is facing criticism after suggesting that people who live in rural areas aren’t able to make photocopies because they don’t have a Kinkos or OfficeMax nearby.
Harris made the remarks in an interview with BET News on Friday as part of an argument against voter ID laws, including those in some states that require a photocopy of ID to vote by mail.
‘I don’t think that we should underestimate what that [compromise on voter ID laws] could mean,’ Harris said.
‘Because in some people’s mind, that means you’re going to have to Xerox or photocopy your ID to send it in to prove who you are. Well, there are a whole lot of people, especially people who live in rural communities, who don’t – there’s no Kinkos, there’s no OfficeMax near them,’ she added.
Kamala Harris absurdly says it’s “almost impossible” for rural Americans to photocopy their ID pic.twitter.com/J94IuGBFLv
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 10, 2021
Harris’ remarks come as Congress fiercely debates a proposal to pass a sweeping Democratic bill on elections, which would create universal mail-in voting and same-day registration in every state, among many other changes.
Congressional Democrats are facing renewed pressure to pass their bill after a Supreme Court ruling Thursday made it harder to challenge Republican states that pass election security laws that make it harder to vote.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the ruling an ‘unprecedented assault’ that ‘greenlights the brutal, accelerating campaign of voter suppression.’
Speaking in Florida, President Joe Biden said he would have ‘much more to say’ soon, but largely sidestepped comment.
For their part, Republicans show no sign of willingness to engage with Democrats on the issue.
‘The states created the federal government, and it´s not up to Chuck or Nancy or anyone else in Washington, D.C., to tell Arizona or anyone else how they should conduct an election,’ Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who was a party in the case, said on Fox News.