From Michigan to Texas, the debate over voting legislation continues to consume the business community.
As Michigan's State Senate prepares to hold hearings on a package of voting bills, the chief executives of 30 of the state's largest companies, including Ford Motor, General Motors and Quicken Loans, released a joint statement declaring their opposition to changes in the state's election laws that would make voting more difficult.
As Michigan G.O.P. Plans Voting Limits, Top Corporations Fire a Warning Shot
"We are calling on Michigan lawmakers and state legislatures across the nation to ensure that any changes to voting laws result in protecting and enhancing the most precious element of democracy," General Motors said in a separate statement posted on Twitter. "Anything less falls short of our inclusion and social justice goals."
In Texas, where two omnibus bills that would introduce a raft of voting restrictions are working their way through the legislature, more big companies reiterated their opposition to restrictive new voting laws.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which is based in Houston, said in a statement: "We categorically oppose any legislation that unfairly seeks to restrict the right of our team members or any American to vote in fair, accessible and secure elections."
The Black Economic Alliance is putting together a new statement opposing "discriminatory legislation." It is expected to be unveiled in the next day, with American Airlines, which is based in Fort Worth among the companies preparing to sign, according to several people familiar with the situation. Other companies signing the statement include Google, Ford, BlackRock, Netflix and PayPal.
In the weeks since Georgia Republicans passed a law that includes provisions that would make it harder for some people to vote, the whole of corporate America has been drawn into the fight. Republicans in almost every state are working on similar legislation, and the focus is quickly moving to Texas, Arizona and Michigan.
While most companies strive to stay out of politics, the issue of voting rights has united many of the country's largest corporations.
"There is something that is fundamentally unfair about restrictive voting laws," said Eddie Fishman, the managing director at the investment firm D.E. Shaw, who signed the new statement. "It undermines confidence in this country, and that's bad for its citizens and its companies."
— David Gelles, New York Times, April 13, 2021
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April 13, 2021
Voices4America Post Script. McConnell wants the companies to shut their mouths on politics and just give him money. But many CEOS who, after all, are in the end just people, say no way. Like us, they hate the #GOPVotingSuppression and #GOPRacism too!
