American Airlines, Dell Oppose Efforts To Restrict Texas Voting

Several large Texas-based companies spoke out Thursday against Republicans’ legislative proposals to further restrict voting in Texas.

The giants of the company American Airlines, based in Fort Worth, and Dell Technologies, headquartered in Round Rock, were among the first to take a stand. American Airlines specifically targeted Senate Bill 7, which would impose sweeping restrictions especially aimed at local efforts to facilitate voting – such as extended early voting hours. Senate Republicans advanced the measure in a vote Thursday at 2 a.m.

“Earlier this morning, the Texas State Senate passed legislation containing provisions restricting access to the vote. To clarify the US position: we are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it, ”the company said in a statement.

Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell has declared his firm’s opposition to Bill 6, another proposed vote, in a Twitter message. The legislation would prohibit local election officials from proactively sending ballot requests by mail and would impose new rules on people helping voters fill out their ballots.

The House Elections Committee heard public testimony Thursday on the proposal, which was to continue into the night.

“Free, fair and equitable access to the vote is the foundation of American democracy. These rights – especially for women, communities of color – have been hard won, ”said Dell. “Governments should ensure that citizens make their voices heard. HB6 does the opposite, and we are opposed to it. “

Both measures are legislative priorities for Republicans in Texas, who are mounting a sweeping campaign this year to step up the state’s already restrictive voting rules and remove local voting initiatives championed in various urban centers, namely in the county. de Harris, in a high turnout election. in which the Democrats continued to increase their margins. The push echoes Republicans’ national legislative efforts to change voting rules after voters of color helped shift key states to Democratic control.

Also Thursday, AT&T and Southwest Airlines, both based in Dallas, issued statements that did not mention any specific legislation, but expressed broad support for voting rights.

“The right to vote is fundamental to our democracy and is a right coveted by all. We believe that every voter should have a fair opportunity to be heard,” the Southwest Airlines statement said.

The AT&T statement said it would work with the business roundtable “to support efforts to improve the voting ability of every person.”

“We understand that the electoral laws are complicated, not the expertise of our company and ultimately the responsibility of elected officials,” the statement said. “But, as a company, we have a responsibility to get involved.”

The statements come just a day after black business leaders called on companies to publicly oppose the restrictions proposed by Republicans across the country – a response to new restrictions in Georgia that were recently passed with little support. opposition from big business.

SB 7 is one of the broader proposals considered in the 2021 Texas legislative session. Beyond banning extended or night time voting hours to accommodate shift workers, it would ban voting driving, would make it illegal for local election officials to proactively send ballot requests by mail to voters, allow partisan observers to videotape some voters who are assisted in filling out their ballots and setting rules specifics for the distribution of polling stations in the state’s largest counties – most of which are either under Democratic control or favored by Democrats in recent state and national elections.

The legislation was proposed under the banner of “electoral integrity”, with State Senator Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola defending it as a measure that “standardizes and clarifies” the voting rules so that “every Texan has a fair and equal chance to vote, regardless of their place of residence in the state. “

“Overall, this bill is designed to address areas throughout the process where bad actors can take advantage, so Texans can be confident that their elections are fair, honest and open,” Hughes told the start of Senate debate on the bill.

In response to opposition from American Airlines, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick – who saw SB 7 as a legislative priority – issued a statement in which he supported the legislation included “comprehensive reforms that will ensure voting in Texas is consistent and safe statewide.”

“Texans are fed up with companies that don’t share our values ​​trying to dictate public policy,” said Patrick.

But the legislation has met fierce opposition from Democrats and a range of civil rights organizations that have warned of its restrictions – and its focus on local initiatives being pushed into Harris County. – could lead to intimidation and deprivation of their rights from voters of color and voters with disabilities. This coalition now includes representatives of American companies.

“Any legislation dealing with how elections are conducted must ensure the integrity and security of ballots while making voting easier, not more difficult,” the American Airlines statement read.

While the House Elections Committee heard public testimony on the bill Thursday night, Microsoft also raised concerns over HB 6’s ban on sending mail-in vote requests to voters who do not. did not ask – a move taken by several Texas counties as voters sought to do so. avoid the dangers of in-person voting during a pandemic.

Some counties have sent requests to voters 65 and older, who automatically qualify to vote by mail in Texas, while Harris County has attempted to send requests to the county’s 2.4 million registered voters with specific instructions on how to determine if they were eligible. This effort was ultimately blocked by state courts, launching Republican legislative proposals to prevent a repeated attempt by both HB 6 and SB 7.

Microsoft is headquartered near Seattle, in a county and state where our elections are conducted entirely by mail, and where our first-hand experience leads us to believe that voting by mail can make voting more convenient and secure. The tech giant said. statement read. “For this reason, we encourage you to explore ways to make the secure use of mail-in ballots more accessible to all voters in Texas.”

It remains to be seen whether corporate opposition to the Republicans’ proposals will match the barrage of outcry during the Texas Legislature’s 2017 debate on a so-called “toilet bill” to restrict access for Texans. transgender people at public facilities.

That year, transgender women, men and children from all over Texas descended on Capitol Hill to testify about how the proposal could be life threatening. They were joined by a large faction of businesses – from local businesses to senior corporate executives, including executives from dozens of Fortune 500 companies – in rallying opposition to the legislation, which was not adopted.

“Major Texas Employers are Coming Up and Speaking Out against Voter Suppression, and for good reason. Texas shouldn’t be following Georgia’s path,” said former House Speaker Joe Straus, the Republican from San Antonio who helped bottle the House toilet bill. “It’s bad for business and, more importantly, it’s bad for our citizens.”

Texas voting rights groups, including Texas Organizing Project, MOVE Texas, and theTexas Civil Rights Project, joined Black Voters Matter in demanding similar positions from companies against Republicans’ bills, including SB 7 , starting with full page ads in local newspapers in the last few days.

“We call on the business community to take a strong stand against current attempts to pass a voter suppression law equivalent to Jim Crow 2.0,” the groups said in the announcements. “It doesn’t have to be business as usual.”

Disclosure: AT&T, Southwest Airlines Dell, and MOVE Texas have financially supported the Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and sponsors. Financial support plays no role in the journalism of the Tribune. Find a full list here.