In the two and a half weeks before the election, Vice President Kamala Harris has made two appearances near Atlanta, along with events hosted by family and close friends. 

Attendees of Harris’ Oct. 19 rally in DeKalb County and an Oct. 27 Clayton County event with Harris’ sister, Maya Harris, and husband, Doug Emhoff believe Harris is the country’s hope for a strong democracy. Ellen Ford, a volunteer for the Harris-Walz campaign, said the economy is at risk, just as much as democracy itself. 

“This election year, we need to keep our democracy,”  Ford said. “We need to keep chaos out of the White House. We need to work on keeping our economy going in the right direction. People predicted it would be a recession after the pandemic, [but] the Biden-Harris administration economy did not go into a recession. It is moving forward, moving up, and we’re doing much better.”

MAYA HARRIS: Kamala Harris’s sister, Maya Harris, made a speech at the Get Out the Vote block party in Clayton County. (Fairlie Mercer)

During his presidency, Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices who later voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that protected a woman’s constitutional right to abortion. Kyriana Scott, a voter from Florida who attended the Oct. 19 rally, warned that Trump is dangerous for women in America.

“Having a say in what I can do with my body is very important,” Scott said. “There shouldn’t be men in Congress who can tell me what I can and can’t do with my body. I think the facts and what she says and what he says shows people who you should and shouldn’t vote for, especially if you have moms, sisters, aunts [or] cousins.”

Jessica Nixon, who also saw Harris on Oct. 19, echoed that voters should evaluate how a Trump presidency will impact their loved ones.

“Even if you think that you’re not gonna get hurt by Donald Trump, somebody you love will,” Nixon said.

SECOND GENTLEMAN: Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris’s husband, gave a speech concerning policies and recalled his conversations with Harris about how we “cannot go back.” (Audrey Lyons)

On Oct. 8, Harris introduced a new policy idea that would expand Medicare to cover in-home healthcare for the elderly and disabled. Harris talked extensively in her Oct. 19 speech about helping older people “age with dignity” and easing the burden of caregiving from younger family members. Tara Nicole attended the rally and said Medicare expansion is one of the most important issues for her family.

“I’m older now; I have a mother who’s 70, so when she mentioned home healthcare, that was important,” Nicole said. “I’m already covered with insurance, but I care for those who are not; I have a lot of people in my family [who aren’t]. People say, ‘there are no policies for me,’ but you’ve got to have somebody in your family that’s affected.” 

Harrison said Harris’s policies expanding healthcare for women and the elderly are influential in her voting decision this year.

“On the policy front, [Harris] cares about the things I care about,” Harrison said. “I think that women should have autonomy over their own bodies. I believe that older people should be able to live with dignity.” 

Nicole brought her 16-year-old son to the rally. She said it is important to expose young people to politics, even if they can’t vote yet, to inspire future civic engagement.

“He was just a baby when Obama was in office,” Nicole said. “He’s been with me every time I vote, and so I thought it was really important for him to see the atmosphere, feel the atmosphere and listen to some of those policies that he may be able to relate to.”

When choosing who to vote for, Chalonda Smith believes voters should deeply consider policies from both sides, regardless of preexisting political allegiance. 

“If you’re a person that does not lean conservative, then most likely Kamala Harris is for you,” Chalonda Smith said. “If you’re a person that leans conservative, understand that if democracy is important to you, if the rule of law is important to you, then Trump is not your candidate.”

Ford, who registered people at the GOTV event to canvas, said many people need outside encouragement to motivate them to vote. 

“People don’t always want to get out and vote, and get civically-involved, they just need a little nudge,”  Ford said. “I am here to just give people a gentle nudge that it is important, and their voices are important and to [get out] and vote.”