WASHINGTON (AP) – When executives from Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines spoke out Against Georgia’s new voting bill, which was unnecessarily restrictive last week, it seemed to signal a new activism emerging from corporate America.
But if leaders of the country’s most prominent companies reject lawmakers who support restrictive voting measures, they will have to change course abruptly.
State lawmakers across the country who have pushed for new voting restrictions, as well as taking advantage of former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about electoral fraud, have brought in more than $ 50 million in corporate donations in recent years, according to a new report from Public Citizen., a Washington-based government watchdog group.
Telecom giant AT&T was the most prolific, donating more than $ 800,000 to authors of proposed restrictions, co-sponsors of such measures or those who voted for the bills since 2015, the report said. Other top donors during the same period include Comcast, Philip Morris USA, UnitedHealth Group, Walmart, Verizon, General Motors and Pfizer.
The money may not have been given in view of the voting laws, but it nonetheless helped strengthen Republican control in state houses where many of the bans are now moving forward.
Whether companies continue to give in to these lawmakers will test how far risk-averse corporate executives are willing to go in their increasingly vigorous criticism of the restrictive efforts that voting rights groups have denounced as an attack on democracy.
“It really is corporate America as a whole that is funding these politicians,” said Mike Tanglis, one of the authors of the report. “It seems that many are trying to hide under a rock and hope that this problem will pass.”
More than 120 companies described in the report previously said they would reconsider their donations to members of Congress who, acting on the same falsehoods as state legislatures, objected to the certification of President Joe Biden’s post-war victory. deadly attack on the Capitol by Trump. supporters
Tension is now most evident in Georgia, where a far-reaching new voting bill has gained intensive national scrutiny, prompting criticism from Delta and Coca-Cola. On Friday, MLB announced it would no longer host the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta.
Still, it’s unclear whether this aggressive new attitude will apply to corporate campaign donations. And early indicators show there is risk.
The Republican-controlled Georgia home voted to strip Delta of a tax break worth tens of millions of dollars a year for their criticism of the new law, though the move was called into question after the GOP senate failed to take it up before the legislative session was adjourned.
What is certain, however, is that withholding corporate donations from state-level candidates, as many federal-level corporations did, would have a much greater impact in state houses.
“Contributing $ 5,000 to a US Senator raising $ 30 million is a drop in a bucket. But some of these state competitions can buy a lot of ad time with a few thousand dollars, ”said Tanglis. “If corporate America is going to say that (Trump’s) lie is unacceptable at the federal level, what about at the state level?”
Public Citizen analyzed approximately 245 voting restriction bills proposed before March 1. They collected a list of sponsors and co-sponsors, while also analyzing roll-call votes. They then compared the data to state-level donation records dating back to 2015, including money from the company’s political action committees, as well as direct contributions from corporate treasuries.
Among their findings:
Businesses have donated at least $ 50 million to lawmakers who supported voting restrictions, including $ 22 million in the 2020 campaign cycle.
– At least 81 Fortune 100 companies have given a total of $ 7.7 million to supporters of the restrictions.
Almost half of all Fortune 500 companies have donated a total of $ 12.8 million to advocates of the restrictions.
– About three-quarters of the companies that changed their donation policies after the Capitol attack have also given money to lawmakers who supported voting restrictions.
More than 60 companies have donated at least $ 100,000 to lawmakers who supported the restrictions.
Separately, industry groups and trade associations contributed an additional $ 36 million to lawmakers, of which $ 16 million was given during the 2020 cycle.
In response, AT&T said that “the right to vote is sacred,” but declined to say whether the company would withhold donations to state legislatures, as they did to members of Congress who objected to Biden’s victory.
“We understand that election laws are complex, not our company’s expertise and ultimately the responsibility of elected officials. But as a company, we have a responsibility to be involved, ”said AT&T CEO John Stankey in a statement.
Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said in a statement, “We strongly oppose passing legislation or any measures that would make it more difficult to vote.” But he stopped promising any specific action.
Comcast said in a statement that “attempts to restrict or impede access to this essential constitutional right for every citizen are not in line with our values.” The company does not want to comment on whether it would evaluate its donations to lawmakers backing the measures.
Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, said in a statement that “every eligible voter should be able to exercise their right to vote” and pledged to “align lawmakers with the guiding principles of our political contributions” in making future contribution decisions. .
Other companies listed in the report declined to comment or did not respond to inquiries from The Associated Press.
On Monday, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell called on companies to oppose what he called a “coordinated campaign by powerful and wealthy people to deceive and bully the American people.”
“Our private sector must stop taking signals from the Outrage-Industrial Complex,” the Kentucky Republican said in a statement. “Americans don’t need or want to empower big corporations … or respond to any fabricated controversy with frantic left-wing signals.”
The pressure has been particularly great in Georgia, where Republican Governor Brian Kemp recently signed a sweeping new law prohibiting people from handing out food or water to voters waiting in line and allowing the Republican-controlled state election council to remove provincial election officials and replace. , among many other provisions.
Two of the main recipients of corporate contributions described in the Public Citizen report were among the sponsors of the measure.
Since 2015, Republican Senator Jeff Mullis has raised more than $ 869,000 in donations from corporate PACs. According to the report, its top corporate backers included AT&T ($ 15,900) and UnitedHealth Group ($ 12,900). Mullis chairs the Georgia Senate’s Rules Committee, which plays a key role in determining which bills will take the floor for a vote.
Republican State Sen. Butch Miller, another sponsor of the bill, has received at least $ 729,000 in corporate donations since 2015. Among its top corporate donors are UnitedHealth Group ($ 15,700) and AT&T ($ 13,600), the report said.
Miller and Mullis did not respond to requests for comment.