An eruption of new voting legislation has sparked a riot among progressive activists, leading some large companies to take a political stand. Some corporations and executives have expressed opposition to the new bills, especially in Georgia.
Amazon, General Motors and others have issued a joint statement opposing the voting restrictions. Earlier this month, Major League Baseball reportedly moved the All-Star game from Georgia in protest of the new bill, and the CEO of Delta Airlines said the voting law was “unacceptable.”
“Well, obviously, corporations have no idea what they’re talking about, because [from] many of their objections, it is quite clear that they have not actually read the bill, “said Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal colleague at the Heritage Foundation.
“They don’t seem to understand that … the law requirements in Georgia aren’t really that different from many other states across the country,” he said. “In fact, in some respects, their law is less strict than in places like New York and New Jersey.”
Georgia’s new law imposes voter ID on absentee voting, limits the use of placements, and restricts the provision of food and water to voters waiting in line at polls. Proponents believe that these measures will increase security and faith in elections.
Opponents of such bills say they are targeting low-income voters who have less flexibility in voting during business hours and are less likely to have a driver’s license or other forms of identity.
“Georgia, perhaps more than any other state, has benefited financially from the success of the civil rights movement,” said People For the American Way President Ben Jealous.
“So Governor Kemp shouldn’t find it surprising that if he wants to throw his state back into Jim Crow, that big deal and that corporations will withdraw from their involvement in his state,” Jealous said.
Watch the video above to find out how these voting laws caused a corporate reaction.