by Vice President Kamala Harris will visit every battleground state in the final week before Election Day, with a focus on female voters who she hopes will propel her to the White House.
The campaign has sent several messages to female voters in recent days, reminding them that what happens in the voting booth is secret.
A Democratic ad released Monday delivers the message: “You can vote any way you want, and no one will ever know.”
On Saturday in Kalamazoo, Michigan, former first lady Michelle Obama reminded women that “we are more than just baby kegs.”
“If you are a woman living in a household of men who don’t listen to you or value your opinion, remember that your vote is a private matter,” Obama said in the battleground state.
A voter CBS News met at the meeting said she has heard of a number of female Republicans who will vote Democrat.
“There’s some kind of campaign going on,” she said. “You can vote and no one knows your vote. And it’s aimed at women.”
Four first-time female voters all said the main issue is for women their age abortion and reproductive rights.
Harris told CBS News in an interview on Saturday that she would reinstate Roe v. Wade if she won the election.
“I support Roe v. Wade being reinstated into law by Congress and restoring women’s fundamental right to make decisions about their own bodies. That’s how fundamental it is,” Harris said.
Harris sidestepped the question of whether she supports abortion restrictions beyond fetal viability, which is typically considered between 22 and 24 weeks of gestation.
“We wouldn’t be debating this if Donald Trump had not hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intent that they would overturn the protections of Roe v. Wade,” she said, noting that women have died due to restrictions in place since the rollback.
“We’ve seen women experience miscarriages around a pregnancy they had prayed for and be denied health care because doctors were afraid they would go to jail, and women develop sepsis,” she said. “We have seen extraordinary harm, pain and suffering occur as a result of what Donald Trump did in planning, achieving and overturning Roe v. Wade. Yes, my first priority is to put those protections back in place and stop this pain and stop this injustice that is happening in our country.”
She also urged Americans not to take former President Donald Trump’s word for it denies that he would support a national abortion ban.
“He says it all,” Harris said. “Come on, do we really take his word for it? He said women should be punished. He’s been all over this.’
With polls showing that some of Harris’ early gains have faded and that the race for president is essentially a dead end, Harris said she isn’t putting too much stock in the polls.
“I certainly think elections are a measure, but honestly, if I had listened to the polls, I would never have run for my first or second office,” she said. “I wouldn’t talk to you here.”
She pointed to record early voting turnout in North Carolina and Georgia as a sign of enthusiasm.
When asked if, given how late in the process she became the Democratic nominee, she felt she had enough time to make her case to the American people, Harris replied: “I’m going to make the most of the time I have have.”
Norah O’Donnell
