Delta CEO and Georgia governor oppose state election regulation

Georgia Gov. Brian kempBrian Kemp The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden seeks expanded government, tax hikes Strong anxiety over Trump in Georgia GOP Phil Murphy signs legislation expanding early voting in NJ PLUS (R) argued with Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian on Wednesday over the company executive’s statement calling the state’s radical vote bill signed last week “unacceptable “.

Bastian in a note to employees which was released to the public on Wednesday clarified an earlier statement in which he appeared to defend the controversial law, which imposes several voting restrictions across Georgia, including the requirement for photo ID for absentee voting and limitation of the number of ballot boxes.

The CEO of the Atlanta-based company first said on Friday that she had worked with other companies to try to remove “some of the most egregious measures” from the bill, which he added has “improved considerably over the course of the legislative process”.

However, Bastian said on Wednesday that while there had been “some success in removing the more repressive tactics that some had proposed”, the bill “is unacceptable and does not correspond to Delta’s values.”

The CEO also argued that “the whole rationale for this bill was based on a lie: widespread electoral fraud in Georgia during the 2020 elections ”.

“It’s just not true,” Bastian added.

Hours later, Kemp released a statement responding directly to Bastian, claiming that he and state lawmakers “spoke directly with Delta representatives on numerous occasions “during the drafting of the bill.

“At no time has Delta opposed the expansion of advance voting, the strengthening of voter identification measures, the increase in the use of secure drop boxes statewide, and the making it easier for local election officials to administer elections – what exactly this bill does. ”The GOP governor continued in his statement shared with The Hill.

Kemp went on to say that Bastian’s statement “contrasts sharply with our conversations with the company, ignores the content of the new law and unfortunately continues to propagate the same bogus attacks repeated by partisan activists.”

“The truth is that the Electoral Integrity Law expands access to the vote and protects the sanctity and security of the ballot box,” he said. “Mr. Bastian should compare the election laws in Georgia – which include postal voting without excuse, online voter registration, 17 days of early voting with two optional extra Sundays, and automatic voter registration during the election. obtaining a driver’s license – with other states in which Delta Airlines operates. “

Bastian’s memo on Wednesday followed a backlash for his earlier statement appearing to defend the law, with several calling on customers to boycott Delta and other companies such as Coca-Cola for failing to immediately condemn the new law, which has already is the subject of several legal proceedings less than a week after its passage.

Kemp on Tuesday rejected calls to punish companies for the voting law, Tweeter, “Boycotting Georgian companies in the midst of a pandemic is absolutely ridiculous.”