mobanmarketThe American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sent out a mailer in South Carolina questioning former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Trump finalizing executive order calling on police to use ‘force with compassion’ The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook MORE’s stances on civil rights issues after the group said the candidate did not answer its questions.
The ACLU is also running digital ads in the state targeting the stances of both Biden and Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy KlobucharHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Democrats demand Republican leaders examine election challenges after Georgia voting chaos Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk MORE (D-Minn.), who the group said also did not answer its questions.
“ACLU asked Joe Biden to answer a few questions about civil rights and civil liberties. Seven candidates who qualified for the next debate submitted responses…but Joe Biden hasn’t,” said the mailer, obtained by The Hill.
“Does Joe Biden support rights for all?” it said.
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ACLU Political Director Ronnie Newman told The Hill in a Wednesday interview that the mailer landed Friday and that a second similar mailer also targeting Biden will land Thursday or Friday of this week.
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The second mailer will ask “Where is Joe Biden on civil rights? On whether voting is a fundamental right? On whether or criminal justice system is broken and unfair?”
Newman said in the interview that the mailers and ads are meant to put pressure on the candidates to answer its questions, but are not based on their records or stances on the issues.
“This initial phase that we’re in is purely focused on info collection,” he said. “What we are looking for is for each and every candidate regardless of party to let us know where they stand.”
The Hill has reached out to the Biden and Klobuchar campaigns for comment.
The action is part of the ACLU’s first “Rights for All” voter engagement campaign that was launched earlier this year.
Biden, who has consistently polled as the Democratic front-runner, has also faced more pointed questions regarding his record on civil rights issues. During the first Democratic debate, he clashed with Sen. Kamala HarrisKamala Devi HarrisRand Paul introduces bill to end no-knock warrants The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook McEnany says Juneteenth is a very ‘meaningful’ day to Trump MORE over his 1970s position on busing black students into majority white schools. He has also faced criticism over a 1994 crime bill he helped author. He has said that the bill did not lead to mass incarceration, but others, like Harris, have said that it did.
Biden’s campaign does have a criminal justice plan on its website, the goals of which include reducing the number of people who are incarcerated and eliminating race, income and gender disparities in the justice system.
Biden and Klobuchar are among the 20 people running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Both have qualified for the September debate.