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New York (CNN Business) Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp launched a counterattack on Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian on Wednesday afternoon, just hours after Bastian said the voting bill signed by Kemp last week was “unacceptable”, “false” and “based on a lie”.
The clash was unusual for two of the state’s most powerful rulers. But it showed the pressure on both of them due to the controversial voting measure.
Republicans, including Kemp, who passed the law, say the measure is needed to end illegal voting, playing on discredited allegations of widespread fraud in last year’s presidential election.
Opponents say legislation and similar measures being considered in other states constitute voter suppression efforts that will reduce minority votes. President Joe Biden called the bill “Jim Crow in the 21st century” and “atrocity”.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Delta CEO Ed Bastian, right, in happier times when Kemp visited the Delta Air Lines vaccination facility on February 24. Kemp and Bastian clashed Wednesday over Georgia’s recently passed voting legislation.
Delta’s initial statement on the measure said there was still “work to be done” to improve access to the vote. But he did include some positive comments on some elements, saying that in part through his own lobbying effort, the law had been “significantly improved in the course of the legislative process.”
Critics of the law quickly attacked Delta’s statement and called for a boycott of the airline and some other Georgia-based companies such as Coca Cola (CCEP) and Home Depot (HD). Bastian responded with a new statement to employees early Wednesday that attacked the law, admitting that Delta (OF) had changed his initial point of view.
“I must clarify that the final invoice is unacceptable and does not match Delta’s values,” Bastian’s statement told Delta employees. “After having had the 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 more difficult for many under-represented voters, especially black voters. their constitutional right to elect their representatives. It’s wrong. “
The statement continued, “The whole rationale for this bill rested on a lie: widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 election. This is simply not true.” Unfortunately, this excuse is used in states across the country that are attempting to pass similar legislation to restrict voting rights.
Kemp quickly released his own statement accusing Bastian of spreading disinformation and failing to recognize the positive aspects of the vote included in the bill.
“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. He defended measures to require official identification such as driver’s licenses before people can vote, stressing that before a passenger can fly on Delta – or any other airline – he must present a photo ID.
“Mr. Bastian is expected to compare Georgia’s voting laws – which include no-excuse postal voting, online voter registration, 17 days of early voting with two optional extra Sundays, and automatic voter registration during of obtaining a driver’s license – along with other states Delta Airlines operates in, “Kemp said.
Delta declined to comment on Kemp’s comment.
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