Left-leaning groups have demanded that Georgia’s largest corporate entities, including Coca-Cola and Home Depot, fight two bills in the Georgia General Assembly, which those groups describe as racist.
Members of this coalition made their demands in a full-page ad in The Atlanta Journal Constitution last week. The coalition called out Delta Airlines, Coca-Cola, Southern Company, Home Depot, UPS, Aflac, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and the Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce.
In today’s @ajc pic.twitter.com/lsfaIufN3n
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) March 4, 2021
“As workers, citizens, and consumers, we expect you to stand with us against anti-democratic and racist bills being considered in the Georgia legislature,” according to the ad.
“Our right to vote is at risk.”
In the ad, members of these various left-leaning groups, who did not identify themselves, took issue with HB 531 and SB 241.
According to the Georgia General Assembly’s website, HB 531, would, if enacted into law, mandate that no election superintendents or board of registrars could accept private funding.
SB 241, meanwhile, would create a voter intimidation and illegal election activities hotline and limit the ability of the State Election Board and the Secretary of State to enter into certain consent agreements.
The Georgia Star News on Monday contacted most of the corporations or entities cited in the newspaper ad.
Five of the nine business interests responded and said the following:
• Home Depot: Spokeswoman Sara Gorman said her company will “continue to work to ensure our associates, both in Georgia and across the country, have the information and resources to vote.”
• Coca-Cola: Spokeswoman Ann Moore said her company’s ultimate goal is “fair, secure elections where access to voting is broad-based and inclusive.”
• Delta Airlines: Spokeswoman Lisa Hanna said that “ensuring an election system that promotes broad voter participation, equal access to the polls, and fair, secure elections processes are critical to voter confidence.”
• Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce: Spokesman Dave Williams said his organization will “continue to work closely with members of the Georgia General Assembly to help facilitate a balanced approach to the election bills that have been introduced this session.”
• Southern Company: Spokesman Demetrius Sherrod declined comment.
As The Star News reported last week, former State Rep. Jeff Jones said the Georgia Chamber of Commerce influences the agenda of House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge). This, Jones went on to say, even though that agenda favors large corporate entities and sometimes frustrates average Georgians’ best interests.
Jones said, “the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is not the friend of the average Georgia citizen.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
