Big-business pushback against voting measures gains momentum
A pushback against new voting bills and laws in numerous states is gaining momentum
April 14, 2021, 11:46 PM
6 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleFILE - In this May 5, 2019, file photo Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, smiles as he plays bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb. A multitude of big-name businesses and high-profile individuals, including Buffett, Amazon and Facebook are showing their support for voters’ rights. In a letter published in The New York Times, the group stressed that Americans should be allowed to cast ballots for the candidates of their choice. “For American democracy to work for any of us, we must ensure the right to vote for all of us,” they wrote. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
Big business has ratcheted up its objections to proposals that would make it harder to vote, with several hundred companies and executives signing a new statement opposing “any discriminatory legislation."
The letter, published Wednesday in The New York Times and The Washington Post, was signed by companies including Amazon, Google, Starbucks and Bank of America, and individuals such as Warren Buffett and Michael Bloomberg, plus law firms and nonprofit groups.
It was the largest group yet to join protests against Republican efforts to change election rules in states around the country.
“Voting is the lifeblood of our democracy and we call upon all Americans to join us in taking a nonpartisan stand for this most basic and fundamental right of all Americans,” the letter reads. “We all should feel a responsibility to defend the right to vote and oppose any discriminatory legislation or measures that restrict or prevent any eligible voter from having an equal and fair opportunity to cast a ballot."
Many of the signers have been loyal donors to Republican political campaigns.
The letter is a direct challenge to Republican officials who have pushed for changes in state voting laws, citing former President Donald Trump's false claim that he lost the November election because of fraud. At the same time, Democrats in Congress propose to overhaul federal voting law in a way that Republicans argue would interfere with state control of elections and hurt the GOP.
There were some notable absences from Wednesday's letter, including Walmart, Delta Air Lines and the Coca-Cola Co.
A Delta spokeswoman declined to comment beyond pointing to a March 31 statement in which CEO Ed Bastian called the Georgia law unacceptable. A Coca-Cola spokeswoman said the company had not seen the letter but that it stands by its support for “free and fair elections.” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has stated that the nation’s largest retailer is against legislation that unnecessarily restricts voting rights.
The business community traditionally has steered clear of taking public positions on political or social issues but that has been changing recently, with many of them putting out statements after the police killing of George Floyd last year.
Over the weekend, Yale University management professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld helped organize a call with more than 100 corporate executives, academics and legal experts to discuss restrictive voting proposals, including the Georgia law. They talked about withholding campaign contributions to elected officials who try to restrict voting, and even withholding investment from states that adopt such laws — although the latter seemed to draw less support, he said.
Earlier this month, 72 Black business leaders signed a letter published in the New York Times that urged corporate leaders to publicly oppose laws that restrict voting by Blacks.
This week, the leaders of three dozen major Michigan companies, including General Motors and Ford, objected to Republican-sponsored election bills that would make it harder to vote in Michigan and other states.
Dennis Archer Jr. is the first signature on the statement. The son of a former Detroit mayor who runs a small consulting firm, he knows there’s less risk of backlash for him than for large multinational companies. But there’s also a risk that Black people and others will stop buying goods from companies that don’t take stands on issues like this.
“I think those companies that take that kind of passive position are really going to feel it in their pocketbook,” said Archer, who is Black.
It remains to be seen whether corporate activism will extend to political donations.
