Hundreds of corporations including Google and Amazon signed on to a statement, released Wednesday, expressing opposition to “any discriminatory legislation” that would make it harder to vote.
The statement was organized by Kenneth Chenault, a former chief executive of American Express, and Kenneth Frazier, the chief executive of Merck.
Other companies backing the statement include Black Rock, Netflix, General Motors, and Starbucks.
“It should be clear that there is overwhelming support in corporate America for the principle of voting rights,” Chenault said in the statement. However, “we are not being prescriptive” regarding specific legislation.
“These are not political issues,” Chenault said. “These are the issues that we were taught in civics.”
The statement is part of a push by major corporations to denounce voting legislation such as the bill recently passed in Georgia, which, among other provisions, mandates that voters present photo identification and bans advocacy groups from distributing food at polling places. Similar bills are under consideration in states including Texas and Michigan, and were introduced after former President Trump claimed Democrats “stole” the general election by means of voter fraud.
President Biden and other Democrats claim such legislation is intended to prevent African Americans from voting, with Biden comparing the bills to Jim Crow laws.
In response to the Georgia law, Major League Baseball moved its All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver, Colo., and actor Will Smith announced that he would move production of a new $120 million movie to a different state. Republicans have criticized corporate moves to boycott Georgia.
“Corporations will invite serious consequences if they become a vehicle for far-left mobs to hijack our country from outside the constitutional order,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said earlier this month.
Send a tip to the news team at NR.