At the Talbot County Lincoln-Reagan Dinner on Thursday, Harris told one of the speakers that it “makes a lot of sense” for the state’s Republican-controlled legislature to allocate the electors before the election because of the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene last month. Much of that destruction occurred in the western part of the state in counties that are expected to vote heavily for Trump. 

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“You statistically can go and say, ‘Look, you got disenfranchised in 25 counties. You know what that vote probably would have been,’” Harris said. “Which would be, if I were in the legislature, enough to go, ‘Yeah we have to convene the legislature. We can’t disenfranchise the voters.’”

Harris’s comment came in response to a keynote address by Ivan Raiklin, a pro-Trump activist and longtime political operative. In his remarks, Raiklin discussed ways in which state legislatures in states such as Arizona and Georgia could meet on Election Day and ensure their electors go toward Trump. 

State legislatures can independently choose how to allocate their electoral votes under the Constitution, and the 50 states assign their electors based on their winner. 

Harris asked Raiklin how the strategy to change that trend could be justified in states that were not affected by hurricane damage, arguing it would look like “a power play.” 

“In North Carolina, it’s legitimate,” Harris said. “There are a lot of people that aren’t going to get to vote, and it may make the difference in that state.”

Harris’s comments were met with backlash from other lawmakers, including Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who told reporters on Friday the proposal “makes no sense.”

“That is a misinformed view of what is happening on the ground in North Carolina, bless his heart,” McHenry said. “I’m confident we’ll have a safe and fair election in North Carolina, and then everyone that wishes to vote will have the opportunity.”

Harris defended his comments on Friday afternoon, telling the Washington Examiner he believes “every legal vote should be counted.” 

“I would hope everyone could agree that legal American voters whose lives were devastated by the recent storms should not be disenfranchised in the upcoming voting process,” Harris said in a statement.

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Vice President Kamala Harris dismissed the North Carolina early declaration idea and said she’ll be a president who “respects the will of the people” in elections.

“America deserves to have leaders who respect the importance of one of the pillars and foundations of our democracy, which is free and fair elections, and that they are not manipulated by elected leaders for the sake of their own political future,” Harris said in Houston on Friday.