As delegates nominated Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) for Vice President on Wednesday night, Democrats called on Americans to be thoroughly prepared as they get ready to vote in the November elections, amid uncertainty and partisan infighting over how well the Postal Service can deliver mail ballots in November.
"Make a plan right now for how you are going to get involved and vote," said former President Barack Obama, as he gave a stern verbal rebuke of President Trump.
"Do it as early as you can and tell your family and friends how they can vote too," Mr. Obama added.
"So, each of us needs a plan - a voting plan," Sen. Harris said in an early appearance on the third night of the Democratic Convention.
"Joe and I want to make sure you're prepared," Harris added, as she decried 'obstacles and misinformation' to voting.
“Why is there so much effort to silence our voices?” asked Harris, as Democrats have long argued Republicans specialize in voter suppression, especially in southern states.
That call was echoed as well in a separate speech by 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“If you vote by mail, request your ballot now, and send it back right away,” Clinton said in remarks from her home in New York. “If you vote in person, do it early.”
“This can’t be another woulda-coulda-shoulda election,” Clinton said, alluding to her loss to President Trump in 2016.
The talk by Democrats of a ‘voting plan’ has gained steam in the last week, since letters from the U.S. Postal Service to almost every state became public, warning of a ‘significant risk’ that voters might not have their mail ballots counted because the U.S. mail could not guarantee their on-time delivery.
It’s led a number of Democratic activists to advocate that voters either vote early in-person, or hand deliver their ballot to local elections officials, instead of sending it through the postal system.
Democrats are telling voters to return their ballot over a week before Election Day on November 3, with many suggesting the use of ‘drop boxes’ which elections officials use in many states to receive ballots.
“You heard @KamalaHarris: Your voice is your vote,” Biden tweeted. “So get prepared for the election and make a plan for how you’ll cast your ballot.”
Biden will make his acceptance speech for the Democratic Presidential nomination on Thursday night.