Harris sparks a new election-integrity fight with eyebrow-raising remarks about voter-roll purges.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is accusing Republicans of “cheating” by purging voter rolls as election integrity and voter-list maintenance become increasingly contentious issues ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Speaking at an NAACP event in Detroit, Harris argued that Democrats are confronting changes to election rules and procedures that she says have weakened tools they relied upon for decades.
“They are cheating by purging voter rolls,” Harris said.
She then urged voters to verify their registration status.
“So we say as leaders then to folks, not only must you register to vote, check your voter registration status to make sure you haven’t been purged from the rolls,” Harris said.
Harris continued:
“They’re trying to take our tools, but we are a creative people. And we know how to fight.”
The comments immediately generated controversy, with Harris’s reference to voter-roll purges drawing particular attention from Republicans and conservative commentators.