(UPDATE) MADISON, Wisconsin — Kamala Harris on Friday attacked her rival Donald Trump and his Republican Party as "hypocrites" over abortion, as the first voters cast their ballots for November's knife-edge United States election.
The Democratic vice president unleashed one of the most forceful speeches of her campaign so far as she blamed Trump for an abortion ban in the battleground state of Georgia that she said had caused the deaths of two women.
"And these hypocrites want to start talking about how this is in the best interest of women and children," Harris told a rally in Georgia's state capital Atlanta to cheers from a mainly female audience.
"Well, where have you been? Where have you been when it comes to taking care of the women and children of America, where have you been? How dare they," she said.
Since replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket two months ago, Harris has repeatedly focused on what she calls "Trump abortion bans."
Trump has frequently bragged on the campaign trail that his three Supreme Court picks paved the way for the 2022 overturning of the federal right to abortion.
At least 20 states have since brought in full or partial restrictions, with Georgia banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Harris doubled down on the issue later on Friday at a raucous rally in Madison, a liberal-leaning city in the swing state of Wisconsin, where she slammed the bans as "immoral."
"This is a health care crisis, and Donald Trump is the architect," she said.
In both speeches, Harris mentioned Amber Nicole Thurman, a 28-year-old mother of one from Georgia who developed a rare complication from abortion pills and died during emergency surgery in 2022.
An official Georgia state committee blamed the fatal outcome on a "preventable" lag in performing a critical procedure.
"We will make sure Amber is not just remembered as a statistic," Harris said in Atlanta, a day after meeting Thurman's family during a campaign event hosted by talk show icon Oprah Winfrey.
'Excited'
Harris' campaign speeches came as three states — Virginia, Minnesota and South Dakota — began early voting 46 days before election day in what is an agonizingly close race.
"The election is basically here," she told Madison rallygoers. "It's basically here, and we have work to do, to energize, to organize and to mobilize."
Former president Trump has previously cast doubt on early voting and mail voting to back his false claims that he won the 2020 election against Biden.
Most US states permit in-person voting or mail-in voting to allow people to deal with scheduling conflicts or an inability to cast their ballots on election day itself, November 5.
Dozens of people waited at a polling station in the center of Arlington, Virginia, just outside the capital Washington.
"I'm excited," said Michelle Kilkenny, 55, adding that voting early, "especially on Day One, helps the campaign and raises the enthusiasm level."
Ann Spiker, 71, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) she usually cast her ballot by mail "but I'm going to vote today because it's so exciting."
The Democratic supporter added: "I can't believe we can pick Donald Trump. When I think about it, I become very worried. That's why we're out and doing what we can."
Trump, 78, faces criminal charges for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 result, after which his supporters violently stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.