• Login
thinkcivics.
Subscribe
Join Us
  • Culture & Society
  • Economy
  • Health & Science
  • News & Politics
  • Religion
  • Technology
  • World
No Result
View All Result
tc.
  • Culture & Society
  • Economy
  • Health & Science
  • News & Politics
  • Religion
  • Technology
  • World
Subscribe
Join Us
No Result
View All Result
thinkcivics.
Home News & Politics

Civil rights groups urge companies to join fight against Georgia voting restrictions

Voting rights groups are calling on companies such as Coca-Cola Co and Delta Air Lines Inc to oppose efforts by Republican lawmakers in Georgia to enact sweeping new restrictions on voting access in the battleground state.

ThinkCivics Newswire by ThinkCivics Newswire
March 5, 2021
in News & Politics
Reading Time: 4min read
0
0
Voting Access Bill Sparks Controversy In Georgia

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 03: Demonstrators stand outside of the Georgia Capitol building, to oppose the HB 531 bill on March 3, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. HB 531 will add controversial voting restrictions to the state's upcoming elections including restricting ballot drop boxes, requiring an ID requirement for absentee voting and limiting weekend early voting days. The Georgia House passed the bill and will send it to the Senate. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Our work relies on the support of readers like you. Please consider supporting us at PayPal or Patreon, to help sustain our journalism.

Voting rights groups are calling on companies such as Coca-Cola Co and Delta Air Lines Inc to oppose efforts by Republican lawmakers in Georgia to enact sweeping new restrictions on voting access in the battleground state.

The organizations, including Black Voters Matter, the New Georgia Project and the Georgia NAACP, launched a campaign on social media and in local news outlets this week asking the corporations to take a stand against legislation they said aims to curb turnout from Democratic-leaning Black voters.

Get Our Weekly Newsletter and Get Smarter

Receive a weekly recap featuring a curated list of must-read stories.

We agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )

We will never give away, trade or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Black voters were crucial to helping elect Democrat President Joe Biden in the November election and two Democratic senators in a January run-off in Georgia, a once unthinkable scenario in the traditionally Republican southern state.

“Some of these companies have made beautiful statements for Black Lives Matter,” said Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, a group focused on increasing Black Americans’ voting access. “Yet here, in the moment where it matters most, they have been silent.”

Republicans in Georgia and across the country are using former President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud to back state-level voting changes they say are needed to restore election integrity.

Republicans asked the U.S. Supreme Court this week to uphold voting restrictions in Arizona in a case that could further hobble the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting.

They also opposed an election reform bill passed on Wednesday by the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives. The For the People Act, the most comprehensive voting bill since the 1965 act, faces long odds in the Senate, with Republicans saying it fails to do enough to combat fraud.

In Georgia, likely one of the biggest battlegrounds in the 2022 elections with a U.S. Senate seat and the governor’s office on the ballot, Republican state lawmakers sponsoring the voting measures maintain they are meant to safeguard elections.

A bill passed by the Republican-controlled Georgia House on Monday would restrict ballot drop boxes, tighten absentee voting requirements and limit early voting on Sundays, curtailing traditional “Souls to the Polls” voter turnout programs in Black churches.

FULL-PAGE ADS

Some voting rights groups have increased their focus on corporations based in Georgia after Popular Information, an online politics newsletter run by Judd Legum, a former aide to Democrat Hillary Clinton, cited campaign finance records popular.info/p/georgia showing the companies had donated around $7.4 million since 2018 to politicians sponsoring the voting legislation.

The groups took out several full-page ads in local newspapers urging Delta, Coca-Cola, Southern Company, Home Depot Inc, United Parcel Service Inc and Aflac Inc to stop the donations and support federal voting rights reform.

Albright said the groups will encourage Georgia residents to call the companies and that protests could be organized in front of their offices.

In statements to Reuters, Coca-Cola, UPS, Delta, Home Depot and Aflac said they were committed to voter rights but did not provide specifics about their stance on the Georgia bills or their future political donations.

Coca-Cola said it paused political donations in January, when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. The company added that it supported efforts to “help facilitate a balanced approach” to the voting bills. Aflac also said it paused all political donations in January.

Delta said it had not made any individual contributions to Georgia House or Senate candidates in 2020.

UPS and Coca-Cola said they were working with local commerce chambers on voting rights issues. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce did not comment on ongoing talks, referring Reuters to a Feb. 16 statement in which the group said it believed it should be “easy to vote, hard to commit fraud.”

Southern Company declined to comment.

U.S. companies in general are becoming more reticent about the exposure that comes with political donations, said Donald Green, a political science professor at Columbia University.

“This will give them yet another excuse to back away from that type of contribution,” Green said.

Georgia’s Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment on voting rights groups’ efforts to enlist companies’ help in fighting the bills.

Read: Without Unity, America Will Fall

The Georgia proposals have drawn scrutiny from More Than A Vote, a voter rights organization founded by LeBron James.

The group, which has supported athlete demonstrations in the past, tweeted it was teaming up with the NBA and the Georgia NAACP “to take on voter suppression” at this weekend’s All-Star game in Atlanta.

Written by Alexandra Ulmer; Additional reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Aurora Ellis, REUTERS

This article was originally published on Reuters.com. Read the original article.

ThinkCivics Newswire

ThinkCivics researches, examines, and reports on issues that matter most. We deliver explanative, fearless, and insightful analysis for public consumption.

thinkcivics.com
Tags: GeorgiaVoting Rights

Related Posts

As protesters on left and right target public servants at home, one city pushes back

As protesters on left and right target public servants at home, one city pushes back

April 11, 2021
Trump Lashes His Enemies Anew as G.O.P. Dances Around His Presence

Trump Lashes His Enemies Anew as G.O.P. Dances Around His Presence

April 11, 2021

Biden Admin Considering Cash Payments to Central America to Control Migration

April 10, 2021

Will Biden ‘Pack’ the Supreme Court?

April 10, 2021
Load More
Next Post
Can the US Adopt Renewable Energy Sources While Protecting the Electric Grid Against Threats?

Can the US Adopt Renewable Energy Sources While Protecting the Electric Grid Against Threats?

U.S. adds a strong 379,000 jobs in hopeful sign for economy

U.S. adds a strong 379,000 jobs in hopeful sign for economy

Migrants at the border between Mexico and the USA

Photos: Migrant group wearing Biden shirts try to cross US/Mexican border

Staff Editorials

Governor Brian Kemp Tours Delta Mass Vaccination Site
Culture & Society

Georgia Corporations Cave to Activists On Voter ID Law. Republicans Hit Back Where It Hurts.

by Michael Price, MPA
April 9, 2021
Close Up Of Boxing Gloves
News & Politics

Now Is The Time for America to Make Room for a Third-Party. Voters Deserve Better!

by Samantha DeTurk
April 5, 2021
Vaccine Passports Pose Privacy and Discrimination Concerns Says Health Experts and Digital Privacy Advocates
Health & Science

Vaccine Passports Pose Privacy and Discrimination Concerns Says Health Experts and Digital Privacy Advocates

by Michael Price, MPA
March 29, 2021
Rep. Jackie Speier, House Speaker Pelosi And Congressional Democrats Mark Vote On The Equal Rights Amendment Ratification
Culture & Society

The Left Pushes for Ratification of the ERA with President Biden’s Support

by Josh Herrington
March 25, 2021
The Bipartisan ‘Endless Frontier Act’ Increases Tech Research Spending to $100bn Annually to Outcompete Communist China
Technology

The Bipartisan ‘Endless Frontier Act’ Increases Tech Research Spending to $100bn Annually to Outcompete Communist China

by Keefer Novik
March 24, 2021

Recommended

Biden Defines His Underlying Challenge With China: ‘Prove Democracy Works’

Biden Defines His Underlying Challenge With China: ‘Prove Democracy Works’

2 weeks ago
Senate Narrowly Confirms Xavier Becerra to Lead Health and Human Services

Senate Narrowly Confirms Xavier Becerra to Lead Health and Human Services

3 weeks ago
Biden Plan Spurs Fight Over What ‘Infrastructure’ Really Means

Biden Plan Spurs Fight Over What ‘Infrastructure’ Really Means

6 days ago
Why Progressives and Conservatives Can’t Seem to Agree about Justice

Why Progressives and Conservatives Can’t Seem to Agree about Justice

2 months ago

Categories

  • Culture & Society
  • Economy
  • Editorials
  • Health & Science
  • News & Politics
  • Religion
  • Technology
  • World
No Result
View All Result

Highlights

Biden Admin Considering Cash Payments to Central America to Control Migration

In 5-4 vote, Supreme Court lifts California’s COVID ban on group Bible study in homes

Will Biden ‘Pack’ the Supreme Court?

McConnell Vs. Trump! Warring Wings Of GOP May Face Off In Alaska Senate Race

What Happened to Biden’s Unity Agenda?

Biden’s border czar is stepping down

What's New

‘Critical Race Theory’ Being Taught at US Army’s West Point: Congressman
Culture & Society

‘Critical Race Theory’ Being Taught at US Army’s West Point: Congressman

by ThinkCivics Newswire
April 11, 2021
0

A Republican congressman said he is looking for answers from the U.S. Military Academy West Point about whether...

As protesters on left and right target public servants at home, one city pushes back

As protesters on left and right target public servants at home, one city pushes back

April 11, 2021
Trump Lashes His Enemies Anew as G.O.P. Dances Around His Presence

Trump Lashes His Enemies Anew as G.O.P. Dances Around His Presence

April 11, 2021
Biden Admin Considering Cash Payments to Central America to Control Migration

Biden Admin Considering Cash Payments to Central America to Control Migration

April 10, 2021
In 5-4 vote, Supreme Court lifts California’s COVID ban on group Bible study in homes

In 5-4 vote, Supreme Court lifts California’s COVID ban on group Bible study in homes

April 10, 2021
Facebook Twitter Instagram RSS

Follow us on social media:

About ThinkCivics

We research, examine, and report on issues that matter most. We deliver explanative, fearless, and insightful analysis for public consumption. Our reports are not presented in confusing academic or political language, we speak Main Street English.

Recent News

  • ‘Critical Race Theory’ Being Taught at US Army’s West Point: Congressman
  • As protesters on left and right target public servants at home, one city pushes back
  • Trump Lashes His Enemies Anew as G.O.P. Dances Around His Presence

Category

  • Culture & Society
  • Economy
  • Editorials
  • Health & Science
  • News & Politics
  • Religion
  • Technology
  • World

© 2021 ThinkCivics Media. All Rights Reserved.

  • Login
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
  • Store
  • Contact Us
  • ThinkCivics Plus
  • Contribute

© 2021 ThinkCivics Media. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.