Kamala Harris’s election policies, explained
Kamala Harris has said she is committed to the peaceful transfer of power. She will preside over the election certification process whether she wins or loses the election.
We’re collecting Vice President Kamala Harris’s and former president Donald Trump’s stances on the most important issues including abortion, economic policy, immigration and more.
Accepting the 2020 election results
Q: Is President Biden the legitimate winner of the 2020 election?
A: Kamala Harris is President Joe Biden’s vice president. A senator in 2020, she cast a vote to certify the election.
Accepting the 2024 election results
Q: Will you commit today to accepting the certified results of the 2024 election?
A: As president of the Senate, Harris will preside over the election certification process in Congress whether she wins or loses the election. In her speech at the Democratic National Convention, she said she was committed to free and fair elections and to the peaceful transfer of power. She said Trump “tried to throw away your votes” in refusing to accept the results of the 2020 election.
Pardons and the Jan. 6, 2021 riot
Q: As president, would you pardon or consider pardoning people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol?
A: Harris described those at the Capitol on Jan. 6 as an armed mob in her DNC speech and has condemned the attempt to overturn the election results. She has characterized their actions as an assault on American democratic values and institutions.
Voting rights
Q: What is your stance on voting rights and ballot access?
A: Harris led the failed White House charge for enhanced voting rights legislation, which Democrats signaled would top her agenda if she is elected to the presidency (they would possibly move to bypass the filibuster that calls for a 60-vote threshold for most actions in the Senate). Democrats are focused on two bills that would guarantee early voting, make it easier to register to vote, outlaw partisan gerrymandering, require greater disclosure of political donors, provide additional public funding for campaigns and bolster the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices.
Judicial reform
Q: Do you support changes to the Supreme Court?
A: Harris has endorsed Joe Biden’s proposed changes to the Supreme Court, including term limits for the justices and a mandatory ethics code. “These popular reforms will help to restore confidence in the Court, strengthen our democracy, and ensure no one is above the law,” she said.
About this project
We collected the positions of the 2024 presidential candidates on abortion, climate, crime and guns, the economy, education, elections, foreign policy and immigration. We used a variety of sources for our reporting, including publicly available information, campaign websites, voting records, news articles and the campaigns themselves. Feedback? Email us at policypages@washpost.com.
Candidate illustrations by Ben Kirchner for The Washington Post. Icons by Tim Boelaars for The Washington Post. Editing by Rachel Van Dongen, Candace Mitchell and Megan Griffith-Greene. Design and development by Agnes Lee, Jake Crump and Tyler Remmel. Design editing by Madison Walls and Virginia Singarayar.