Hundreds of business representatives and celebrities signed a statement on Wednesday opposing discrimination in elections in the United States. They are doing so now as Republicans work on various bills that would change the organization of elections.
Multinational companies like Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Google mother Alphabet, Apple, Twitter, Netflix, Airbnb, Goldman Sachs, wealthy entrepreneurs like Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffett, James Murdoch, large legal firms, NGOs, and celebrities like George Clooney have all signed Sacha Baron-Cohen, Orlando Bloom, Leo DiCaprio, Ariana Grande, Ed Helms, Kate Hudson, Demi Lovato, George Lucas, Queen Latifah, Gwyneth Paltrow, Katy Perry, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Amy Schumer, Paula Abdul and Naomi Campbell Bayan.
“We must all feel the responsibility to defend electoral rights and oppose any legislation or measure that prevents voters from getting a fair and equal opportunity to vote,” this was published in the form of an announcement. It was published in the New York Times and The Washington Post.
The Targeted African Americans
The initiative was launched by former American Express CEO Kenneth Chennault and Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, who are both African-Americans. The two are mobilizing the business world after the passage of the Electoral Fraud Act in Southern Georgia, for example by better verifying the identity of those who vote by mail and reducing the odds of early voting. Critics say these Republican majority rules fundamentally limit African American voters’ access to the polls because they are less likely to obtain the required identity documents now, and they often have jobs that do not give them the flexibility to vote within specified hours. .
Criticism and Boycott
The new law led to strong criticism and boycott calls were heard from the economic sector and the sports world. For example, Major League Baseball the MLB announced that its finals will not be held in Atlanta, the capital of Georgia. Actor Will Smith will not shoot his next film on the history of slavery in the United States – as planned – in Georgia.
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Several large corporations in Georgia, such as Delta and Coca-Cola, were criticized for not speaking publicly about the legislation at first. In the end, company leaders expressed their contempt, which in turn led to criticism and calls for a boycott from the Republican side.
For example, former President Donald Trump has called for a boycott of MLB and Coca-Cola, and Republican Minority Leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell has called on companies not to engage in politics, especially when it comes to “very controversial topics”.
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Georgia is one of the states that helped Joe Biden win his election last year, in part because a historically large number of black voters were drawn to the polls. Trump claimed that his victory was “stolen” due to massive electoral fraud in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, and elsewhere.
Similar statutory texts are also being prepared in Arizona, Texas, Florida and Michigan.
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