Corporations Protest Georgia’s New Voting Legislation

By Mimi Lebeau ‘24

This past March, Georgia enacted a law restricting voter registration, particularly among absentee voters. Brian Kemp, the lawmaker who headed the motion to pass their law says it is to prevent voter fraud. However, it is more likely that it is to suppress minority voters.
This past presidential election, Georgia’s minorities played a crucial role in flipping the former red state blue. The same is true in Georgia’s senatorial election when the minority vote helped to get Democrat senators Jon Ossof and Raphael Warnock elected.

The law specifically targets minorities as many are less well off due to systemic racism which forces them to work longer hours to support their families. For this reason, they will vote via mail-in ballots so they don’t have to take off time from work that may detract from their paychecks.
The legislation states that all citizens will no longer automatically have access to an absentee ballot. In order to acquire one, one must show a voter ID as opposed to the usual signature match used in most states. This disproportionally affects People of Color as a significant amount of POC voters do not have the identification needed. 
Furthermore, the law reduces the window of time in which one can request an absentee ballot and mail it in. While previous voters had six months prior to the election to register as an absentee voter, they now only have 78 hours. Moreover, the time frame in which one may mail in this ballot also decreased from 49 days to only 29.
Similarly, the law mandates that ballot drop boxes are to be scarcely dispersed, a tactic used by Trump in the 2020 election to make it harder for early voters to cast their votes. It is no coincidence that the majority of drop boxes in rural, Republican counties have barely been affected while more urban areas that contain higher concentrations of minorities have seen their boxes diminishing. 
Another component of this legislation is that organizations are prohibited from distributing food and water to voters waiting in line. Not-so-coincidentally, urban polling centers tend to have longer lines so by banning the distribution of refreshments, it may discourage people, disproportionately minority voters, from voting.
Each component of this legislation directly targets a struggle among minorities and uses it to take away their voices so Kemp and his fellow lawmakers can maintain their privilege.
However, this clear display of discrimination has not gone unnoticed by large corporations.
For example, the Major League Baseball (MLB) corporation had a significant response. The MLB had planned to hold its annual all-star game in Atlanta, Georgia. However, in protest of this law, they moved the event to Colorado. 
“I think it is important for corporations to express disdain for Georgia’s voting law,” sophomore Tali Goldman said. “Consumers need to know the values of who they’re buying products from to make informed decisions, so communicating the vital value of equal voting rights for all is the necessary action for corporations to take.”
The Professional Golf Association (PGA), another large influential sports entertainment tour, plans to hold its championship in Atlanta. However, unlike the MLB, they opted to keep the event in Georgia in order to support the local economy of its citizens saying:
“The Tour Championship’s commitment to East Lake has helped our partners transform distressed neighborhoods into healthy and thriving ones, which is a key to ending the cycle of intergenerational poverty… The charitable and economic benefits that have led to these substantial changes would not continue if we simply walked away from those in need.”
Instead, they publicly expressed their disdain for Georgia’s legislation and that it “fully supports efforts to protect the right of all Americans to vote and to eliminate any barriers that may prevent citizens’ voices from being heard and counted.”
Yet, sporting associations are not the only corporations who have spoken out against this injustice. Over one hundred companies have released statements expressing their disgust for this travesty of a law.
The chief executive of Delta Airlines, Ed Bastian, plays a significant role in Georgian politics as he and his corporation are influential among many lawmakers, particularly those of the Republican Party. Before the bill even passed, Bastian swayed legislators to remove certain provisions such as a theoretical ban on voting on Sundays and other far-reaching ideas.
Other notable corporations include Coca-Cola, UPS and Home Depot who, like Delta Airlines, opposed certain provisions on the bill. 
Although some of the original legislation remains, these, as well as many others, were vital in whittling away as much injustice as possible. 
    Freshman Hannah Weisz said, “voter suppression is much more common than voter fraud in the United States. This legislation is dangerous and makes me worry for the future of this country.”