The CEO of Delta Air Lines came out in opposition to Georgia’s election reform bill.
Ed Bastian sent a memo to Delta employees about the election bill, which opponents have decried as the second coming of Jim Crow laws, on Wednesday. The company released a statement on Friday that noted the legislation “improved considerably during the legislative process.”
This time, the CEO of the Atlanta hub said it’s “crystal clear” that the final iteration of the bill, which Gov. Brian Kemp signed on March 25, is “unacceptable and does not match Delta’s values.”
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Georgia became the first state to enact an election reform bill following the 2020 election. Since then, two groups of liberal activist organizations filed lawsuits trying to stop its implementation.
The bill will make numerous changes to the way elections work in the state, including the timing of runoff elections and the requirements for obtaining an absentee ballot. It would also give state officials authority to take over local elections boards, and it would make it a crime to approach voters in line to give them food and water.
Activists have urged Georgia-based companies, such as Delta and Coca-Cola, to take a stand against the Republican-led legislature’s election bill. Six dozen black executives signed a letter urging companies to stand with activists.
Bastian’s opinion was formed after having “discussions with leaders and employees in the black community,” he said, and he’s come to realize that “the bill includes provisions that will make it harder for many underrepresented voters, particularly black voters, to exercise their constitutional right to elect their representatives.”
“The entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie,” he said, adding that the lie he’s referring to is that “there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 elections.”
“This is simply not true. Unfortunately, that excuse is being used in states across the nation that are attempting to pass similar legislation to restrict voting rights,” he said.
The issue of voter integrity and reform has become one of the most prominent issues in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election given the former president promoted a litany of false claims alleging that he was the rightful winner of the election.
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Supporters and members of Congress alike echoed his claims, and months after the election, those people are calling for changes to the way elections work.
Democrats argue that Republicans are trying to disenfranchise voters to try to regain power specifically by making it harder for minorities to vote. These efforts are continuing at a state and federal level across the country.
