Delta and Coca-Cola pivot on restrictive voting law in Georgia: “This is unacceptable” | American News

After weeks of pressure from activists, some big business and prominent black executives are taking a harder line in denouncing a new law in Georgia aimed at restricting access to the vote.

Delta Airlines, one of the Georgia-based companies that declined to speak as the measure passed through the legislature, issued a forceful statement on Wednesday, saying the law was “unacceptable.”

“After having had time to now fully understand everything that is in the bill, coupled with discussions with leaders and employees of the black community, it is evident that the bill includes provisions that will make it more difficult the exercise of many under-represented voters, especially black voters. their constitutional right to elect their representatives. This is wrong. ”Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, wrote in a corporate note Wednesday.

“The whole rationale for this bill was based on a lie: there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 election. This is simply not true. Unfortunately, this excuse is being used in states across the country trying to pass similar legislation to restrict the right to vote, ”he added.

The statement is a sharp reversal for Delta, which for weeks refused to say it explicitly opposed Georgia’s measure. Two weeks ago, when the measure was drafted in the state legislature, a spokesperson for Delta told the Guardian that “ensuring an electoral system that promotes broad voter turnout, equal access to the ballot box and fair and secure electoral processes are essential for voter confidence. and creates an environment that ensures that everyone’s vote is counted ”.

Delta’s statement came just after some of America’s top black business leaders and CEOs issued a letter condemning widespread efforts across the United States to make voting more difficult. “There is no middle ground here,” Kenneth Chenault, former CEO of American Express, told The New York Times, who reported on the letter first. “Either you are for more people voting, or you want to suppress the vote.”

James Quincey, the CEO of Coca-Cola, who has remained largely silent in recent weeks, also pivoted his company’s stance on Wednesday.

“This legislation is unacceptable. It’s a step backwards ”, he told CNBC. “This legislation is wrong and needs to be corrected and we will continue to defend it both in private and now even more clearly in public.”

When asked why it took so long to unreservedly condemn the law, Quincey insisted that the company had “always” opposed the law, even though it had refused to say so for decades. weeks.

Georgian law requires voters to provide identification when requesting and returning postal ballots, limits the availability of drop-off boxes for absentees, reduces the duration of the second round of elections, allows unlimited challenges for voter qualifications and gives Republicans in the state legislature more influence over the state electoral council as well as a channel for meddling in local councils. The law also prohibits providing food or water to anyone in line to vote.

Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, one of the groups leading the pressure campaign, welcomed Delta’s statement, although she said it was “late.”

“This is where the problem lies. Conversations with black and brown leaders must take place at all stages and in all areas of decision making, not after the damage is done. Here is the lesson: listen to blacks and maroons, “she said in a statement. She added that the company should now call for the promotion of voting restrictions through other state legislatures and support sweeping legislation on the right to vote in Congress.

Deborah Scott, the executive director of Georgia Stand-Up, another civic action group, called on Wednesday for a boycott of Georgia and Coca-Cola.

“While condemning Georgia’s anti-democratic actions is fair and vocal support is welcome, the most effective response is one that hits the pockets of the Georgian ruling elite – an economic boycott of the state,” she said in a statement. “This is a historic opportunity, comparable to other defining civil rights moments such as the Montgomery and Selma bus boycott.

While Delta insisted it was working behind the scenes to remove some of the measure’s toughest restrictions, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he was surprised by the company’s stance.

“Today’s statement from Delta CEO Ed Bastian 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,” he said. said Kemp, according to Atlanta. Constitution of the newspaper. Since 2018, Delta has donated more than 41,600 to lawmakers who have supported voting restrictions, according to Popular Information, an independent newsletter.

A senior Republican too declared to the Constitution of the Journal of Atlanta that lawmakers were looking for ways to punish the company after a statement that “sounded like Delta shooting us in the face with a shotgun without telling us it was coming.”

Arthur Blank, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons football team, also released a statement on Tuesday condemning the new law.

“Every voice and every vote counts and must be heard in our democratic process in Georgia. The right to vote is simply sacred. We should be working to make voting easier, not harder for every eligible citizen, ”Blank said in a statement Tuesday. Spokesmen for the Atlanta Braves and Hawks, the city’s baseball and basketball teams, respectively, declined to comment on the measure on Tuesday.

Companies have shown their willingness to speak out on controversial issues in recent years, from LGBTQ + rights to the environment. But observers in recent weeks have wondered why companies haven’t brought the same force to oppose voting rights in Georgia.

“They’re looking at their best business interests, and when the pressure on one side increases, they basically realize ‘hey look, there’s a side I have to weigh in and at this point I have to step up and make my opinion clear, ” Said Tarun Kushwaha, professor of marketing at George Mason University. “I have the impression that the organizations based in Georgia, in Atlanta, were slow to do this because they feared there would be repercussions for them. Repercussions not only on customers, but also on the legislator. “

Beyond Delta, activists have also chosen Coca-Cola, UPS, Home Depot, Aflac and Southern Company to oppose the measure. Last week, leaders of AME Church’s Sixth District, representing more than 500 black churches in Georgia, went even further and called for a boycott of Coca-Cola.

There have also been growing calls for sports officials to sanction Georgia for the law. The president of the Major League Baseball Players Union has indicated that he is open to discussing moving the All Star Game from the league to Atlanta this summer. The National Black Justice Coalition also called on the PGA Tour to move the Masters’ golf tournament out of Georgia.