Corporate giants come under pressure in backlash over Georgia voting law

“It is evident that the bill includes provisions that will make it more difficult for many under-represented voters, especially black voters, to exercise their constitutional right to elect their representatives. This is false,” he said. Bastian said, adding that the law was based on a 2020 Georgia voter fraud “lie”.

James Quincey, CEO of Coca-Cola, told CNBC on Wednesday that his company had “always opposed this legislation” and called it “unacceptable” after fierce pressure from civil rights organizations to a stronger position of the soft drink giant. Delta and Coca-Cola have been the target of social media hashtag campaigns calling for a boycott.

A cynic might argue that big companies rushing to condemn the law are acting like big companies usually do, to protect their brand reputations and avoid alienating their customers over a heated political issue.

The time it took for the backlash to emerge explains the rush by lawmakers in Republican states to speed it up to the governor’s office earlier this month. But it’s hard to take seriously the claims by some of the world’s most sophisticated companies that it took some time to find out what was in the bill.

Election shock waves 2020

Changes in attitude in the corporate world towards the law reflect the still reverberating shockwaves of the 2020 election and Trump’s destruction of the tradition of peaceful transfers of power in his efforts to reverse his electoral loss. Like every citizen and every American entity, big corporations are called upon to make a choice that they would probably prefer to avoid on which side of the divide they are on – especially since the democratic system that made them powerful is still under pressure. ‘assault.

Whether Democrats and voting rights activists now have strong allies in the fight against a wave of voter suppression measures in several states will be confirmed by events. The Georgia Democratic Party has said the CEOs of Coca-Cola and Delta are right to criticize the law, but said they should now strongly support two Democratic House bills in Washington sent to the Senate that would help remove voting restrictions in states like Georgia.

The legislation would overturn many provisions of GOP laws and bills in Georgia, Texas, Arizona and other states by setting national electoral standards. But he faces a daunting prospect, with even some Senate Democrats wary of details. And to pass them, Democrats may need to spark a political conflagration by abolishing the tradition of filibuster which effectively means a 60-vote supermajority is needed to pass major legislation.

“We look forward to engaging with Georgian companies like Coca-Cola and Delta as true partners on these critical issues, which affect the civil rights of Georgians and all Americans,” said Representative Nikema Williams, who chairs the Peach State Democratic Party. a statement that kept the pressure on.

Companies facing change

A wave of statements from business executives criticizing Georgian law underscore how sensitive large companies are to public opinion – at least in the short term. They may also reflect the pressure of a large Georgia-based workforce and also a judgment on the consumer of the future. Long-term demographic trends are unfavorable to conservative white political leaders facing a tide of diversity that could overwhelm their cultural populism in decades to come. Companies that put themselves on the wrong side of the equation could hurt their bottom line in the years to come.

Pressure in the corporate world for more companies to speak out came amid an effort by black business leaders led by Kenneth Chenault, the former CEO of American Express, and Kenneth Frazier. , the CEO of Merck, to encourage their colleagues in the company to take stronger positions. against the suppression of voters.

“Businesses have to stand up. There is no middle ground,” Chenault said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” at the start of the day in which the business backlash and retaliation unfolded on the commercial chain.

“The new law and others like it are both undemocratic and anti-American, and they are wrong,” the announcement said. “Make no mistake, we have seen this handbook before of those who seek to deny their fellow Americans the opportunity to have their voices heard at the polls.”

Georgia’s Republican Governor Kemp also appeared on CNBC and strongly pushed back on CEOs, saying they picked elements of the law and didn’t understand it.

The governor argued that critics are ignoring the fact that the new law now requires every county in Georgia to provide a drop box for the first votes to be collected. But he didn’t mention new limits on the number of drop-off boxes allowed and the times they can be accessed, actually making it more difficult to vote in Democratic-leaning counties plagued by long lines. waiting on election day.

In a statement, Kemp also criticized the law of Bastian, the CEO of Delta, saying there was no difference between requiring people to show official identification like driver’s licenses to allow people to vote or board a plane.

Sports next to feel the pressure

The intervention of corporate CEOs is a sign of success for the lobbying campaign by Democrats and civil rights groups in Georgia, now a critical transitional state. Biden became the first Democrat since 1992 to win the state, which was also responsible for giving his party control of a 50-50 Senate in two run-off elections in January.

Election law will ensure an incendiary race for the governor’s mansion in 2022 – which could pit Kemp against a rematch against voting rights activist and former Georgia House Democratic leader Stacey Abrams, who played a key role in the state bluing in November.

She called on business leaders to recognize the reality of what is happening as Republicans seek to introduce new election laws across the country in response to the loss of Trump. Big business should also steel their criticism by refusing to make campaign donations to lawmakers who suppress votes, she said.

“I call on like-minded Americans to uphold the values ​​held by corporations – by measuring their actions and demanding that they stand with us,” Abrams wrote.

The next front in the lobbying campaign against Georgian law could come from sports. Ahead of Thursday’s opening day, the Major League Baseball Players’ Association said it was ready to discuss this year’s All-Star Game in Georgia. State politics are likely to interfere with next week’s Masters tournament at Augusta National, the first golf major of the year.

The National Black Justice Coalition, a leading civil rights group, has called on the PGA Tour to withdraw from the tournament. The question of racing was already in the foreground at this year’s Masters due to Lee Elder’s debut as an honorary starter alongside Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

Elder was the first black player to enter the tournament in 1975, and his inclusion is widely seen as an attempt by the exclusive club to right past wrongs after failing to admit African-American members for most of its history. The honor of the elders was announced during the National Race Calculation after the murder of George Floyd. The trial of the police officer accused of his death is currently taking place in Minneapolis.

(AT&T, which owns CNN, is a longtime sponsor of the Masters).