As civil liberties groups are pressuring corporations in Georgia to oppose Republican efforts to make it harder to vote in the Peach State, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce added a statement expressing “concern and opposition” to the proposed legislation.
Coca-Cola and Home Depot are now saying their companies are aligned with the Chamber’s statement.
Other corporations in Georgia activists are lobbying include Aflac, Delta Air Lines, and UPS.
The Georgia bills, HB 531 and SB 241, would end no-excuse absentee voting, limit early voting hours, restrict drop-boxes for mail ballots, and curtail early voting on Sundays. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, has not said whether he would sign the bills into law in their current form. But his spokeswoman Mallory Blount told CNN via email last week that Kemp “has been clear about his support for strengthened voter ID provisions on absentee voting.”
- Coca-Cola said voting is “a foundational right” in the US and that the company will “continue to work to advance voting rights and access…The ultimate goal should be fair, secure elections where access to voting is broad-based and inclusive.”
- Home Depot said the company had an internal campaign promoting voter registration and helped its employees volunteer at polling stations across the country.
- Delta said, “Ensuring an election system that promotes broad voter participation, equal access to the polls, and fair, secure elections processes are critical to voter confidence and creates an environment that ensures everyone’s vote is counted.” Delta also did not contribute to any campaigns in the 2020 elections due to the pandemic.
- Aflac said it has paused all political donations in the wake of the January 6 Capitol insurrection and that the company has “a long history of supporting fairness and justice.”
From Washington Post and CNN