The opposition of major corporations such as Coca-Cola and Delta to a Georgia election law has drawn attention to an alliance of more than 1,000 companies that, in effect, have identified themselves as opponents of voting integrity.
The Civic Alliance boasts on its website that its membership has grown to 1,119 companies that employee more than 5 million people.
“As a coalition of businesses, we use our voice, our brand, and our reach to strengthen our democracy. We support safe, accessible, and trusted elections, and we inspire our employees and customers to participate in civic life,” the alliance says.
However, the objective of making elections “accessible” translates to opposition to laws such as Georgia’s that seek to ensure that every vote represents a legitimate voter and that voters are not disenfranchised.
Amid the controvesy over Georgia’s law, the Civic Alliance issued a letter last Friday condemning any effort to “restrict” ballot access, signed by 200 companies, including Salesforce, ViacomCBS and The Estée Lauder Companies.
“Companies have their fingers on the pulse of what’s going on with their consumers and employees, and this is a priority for folks and so companies are making it a priority for themselves,” said Mike Ward, co-founder of the Civic Alliance, NBC News reported.
The letter said in part, “We stand in solidarity with voters – and with the Black executives and leaders at the helm of this movement – in our nonpartisan commitment to equality and democracy.”
The statement said there are “hundreds of bills threatening to make voting more difficult in dozens of states nationwide.”
The alliance’s membership reads like a who’s who of corporate America, featuring Amazon, Verizon, McDonalds, Microsoft, PayPal, Uber, Airbnb, Best Buy, Capitol One, Dow, Hewlett Packard, Macy’s, Starbucks, United Airlines, Under Armour and Pepsico.
See the Civic Alliance’s list of 1,119 member companies.
Civic Alliance says it’s “ambitious goal is 80 percent voter turnout.”
“We may have a long way to go, but by working together, we will create a culture where civics matter and participation is a habit, it says.
The alliance asks companies that become members to agree to a pledge:
We believe the strength of the United States lies in its people, each with the power and the potential to shape the future of our country.
Together, our companies have the platform and the reach to encourage every American to speak up, achieving the promise of their participation.
Like all Americans, our companies have unique values. Yet we are united in envisioning a future where everyone is engaged in civics, starting with voting in every election.
‘False narrative’
WND reported Monday a website called Stop Corporate Tyranny has been launched by a center-right coalition that aims to help citizens combat “the Left’s weaponization of corporate America against traditional beliefs and values.”
The site offers activism campaigns in which citizens can engage. One of the latest responds to the corporations headquartered in Georgia that are opposing the election law.
After condemnation of the law by the CEO of Delta Air Lines, the Coca-Cola Company, President Biden and others, Major League Baseball decided Friday to withdraw the All-Star Game from Atlanta.
But Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott fought back Monday, announcing he has declined to throw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ home opener. Abbott said he won’t take part in any Major League Baseball events, and Texas won’t host the All-Star Game.
“Major League Baseball adopted what has turned out to be a false narrative about the election law reforms in Georgia, and, based on that false narrative, moved the MLB All-Star game from Atlanta,” he said.
On Friday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement announcing the withdrawal of the All-Star Game from Atlanta that the league’s “values” are at stake, charging the Georgia law discriminates against minorities.
The Georgia law requires proof of identification but it also expands the number of early voting days, and it continues to allow voters to cast absentee ballots without an excuse. The law allows observation of ballot counting and prohibits ballot harvesting.
Make Georgia like Delaware
Biden continues to make false claims about the Georgia law, calling it “Jim Crow on steroids,” even after earning the maximum four “Pinocchios” from the Washington Post fact-checker. In response, a Georgia state lawmaker, noting that laws in the president’s home state of Delaware are more protective of election integrity than Georgia’s, has proposed legislation.
State Republican Rep. Wes Cantrell, PJ Media reported, said he’s calling his bill The President Joe Biden Jim Crow On Steroids Voter Act.
He said it will have five key features “to make us like Delaware.”
“Instead of having up to 19 days of early voting like we have here in Georgia, we’re going to have exactly zero early voting days, because that’s how they do it in Delaware,” Cantrell said. “Instead of having no-excuse absentee voting, like we have here in Georgia, we’re going to make you have an excuse to have an absentee ballot, and that excuse will be you’re either sick or you’re disabled, because that’s how they do it in Delaware.
“Instead of having secure drop-boxes where you can place your absentee ballot in one of those drop-boxes for security’s sake, we’re going to provide you with exactly zero drop-boxes, because that’s how they do it in Delaware,” he said.
“And instead of being able to get food or drink from anyone outside of the 150-foot buffer zone while you’re voting, or being able to be provided water inside the 150-foot buffer area, we’re going to make it illegal for you to receive anything of value at any point while you’re standing in line to vote, because that’s how they do it in Delaware,” the lawmaker said.
‘What Democrats truly think about us’
Many Democrats contend requiring voter ID is racist, insisting such laws suppress the vote among minorities.
However, a Rasmussen national survey last month found that 69% of likely black voters and 75% overall believe voters should be required to show photo identification such as a driver’s license before being allowed to vote.
Candace Owens, a black conservative activist and author, said Monday that any corporation “telling you that Voter ID laws are racist is run by white supremacists.”
“Black people know how to get ID,” she wrote on Twitter, with the hashtags #coke and #delta.
“Pretending we are too stupid to figure out how to get to the DMV is an insult and speaks volumes about what Democrats truly think about us.”
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