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Apple chief executive Tim Cook has joined the chorus of business leaders who have spoken out in favor of the right to vote in light of the voting restrictions the Georgia governor enacted last week.
“The right to vote is fundamental in a democracy. American history is the story of the extension of the right to vote to all citizens, and black people in particular have had to march, struggle and even give their lives for over a century to defend this right ”, Cook said in a statement to Axios.
“Apple believes that, thanks in part to the power of technology, it should be easier than ever for every eligible citizen to exercise their right to vote. We support efforts to ensure that the future of our democracy is brighter and more inclusive than its past. “
Cook’s statement is just the latest of the companies that, after calls from voting rights activists, are starting to denounce a law that restricts the right to vote in Georgia that was passed last week.
The law includes an obligation for voters to provide identification when requesting and returning absentee ballots and limits the availability of ballot boxes for absentees, reduces the length of the run-off election and gives Republicans state legislature more influence over state election commissions.
Many of the state’s largest companies were mostly silent as the law passed through the state legislature, but business leaders eventually bowed to pressure to speak out against the law once the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, signed it last week.
Delta Airlines, headquartered in Atlanta, issued a forceful statement Wednesday that 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 proven 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, ”Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement.
In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, James Quincey, CEO of Coca-Cola, which is also headquartered in Atlanta, echoed Bastian’s statement, saying the law “is a step backwards” and “needs to be corrected. “.
Besides Apple, other large US companies based outside of Georgia have spoken out against voting restrictions, including American Express, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Microsoft.
Voting rights activists welcomed the statements, but expressed frustration that companies would not speak out until after the law was passed. Kemp has already dismissed the claims, encouraging companies to “look at other states they do business in and compare what real fasts are in Georgia.”
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