SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Today, the Associated Press made the call that based on receiving a majority of votes in the electoral college, former-Vice President and Senator Kamala Harris have been elected as the next President and Vice President of the United States. This announcement ends a historic election, which saw one of the highest voter turnouts in modern history.

A statement from Imani Rupert-Gordon, NCLR Executive Director:

“Just moments ago, it was announced that Vice-President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris will become the next President and Vice President of the United States of America.

By all accounts, this has been a historic election. Our democracy rests on the foundation that our leaders are elected by the people of this country and despite calls to do the contrary, we made the simple but powerful demand that we count every vote. They were counted. And the people have spoken.

But that is not the only significance of this historic election. President-Elect Joe Biden has long been a champion of our community and he has promised the most LGBTQ-inclusive administration that has ever been in the White House. The opportunity to partner with a friendly administration and rebuild has never been greater.

And additionally noteworthy, Kamala Harris not only represents the first woman ever with the title Vice President-Elect, but also the first Black woman and South Asian woman to hold the position, which will provide a perspective that we have never had in that role before. 

This gives us hope – hope that we can begin to build a solid foundation of trust where our community has previously felt left out.

And yet we still have much work to do. From reversing Trump’s baseless and immoral transgender military ban and restoring protections for LGBTQ students, to protecting LGBTQ families and asylum seekers and providing relief to the millions of people who are struggling to pay rent, buy food, and keep their families afloat – our communities have a number of priorities we are excited to immediately begin working on with this administration. President-Elect Biden has committed to passing the Equality Act, and we look forward to working closely with him to make that a reality.

But today we are celebrating. Celebrating that an administration that made a commitment to honor our community will have the opportunity to do so. And NCLR will be there every step of the way to make sure they do.”   

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The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a national legal organization committed to advancing the human and civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. Since its founding, NCLR has maintained a longstanding commitment to racial and economic justice and the LGBTQ community’s most vulnerable. https://www.nclrights.org