Apple CEO Tim Cook joined the growing number of business leaders condemning the recently passed Georgia voting reform bill, saying voting “ought to be easier than ever.”
“The right to vote is fundamental in a democracy. American history is the story of expanding the right to vote to all citizens, and Black people, in particular, have had to march, struggle and even give their lives for more than a century to defend that right,” Cook said in a statement to Axios.
His comments echo calls by companies such as Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines, which have expressed concern over the bill recently signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, alleging certain measures of the bill would disproportionately affect voters of color.
“Apple believes that, thanks in part to the power of technology, it ought to be easier than ever for every eligible citizen to exercise their right to vote,” Cook said.
BIDEN SLAMS NEW GEORGIA VOTING LAW AS ‘DESIGNED TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM VOTING’
Numerous critics allege the law is a revival of Jim Crow-era racism. However, supporters of the bill, such as Republican State Sen. Butch Miller, say it has been misrepresented from what its reforms aim to accomplish.
“I think we are making it easier for people to vote. We’re making it easier for people to vote with consistency and accountability,” Miller told NPR.
The Georgia law requires a photo ID in order to vote absentee by mail. The state offers a free state ID that can be used to request voting ballots, despite some allegations voter ID disproportionately affects people from lower-income communities.
The law also reduces the time frame in which runoff elections are held, including the amount of accessible early voting centers for runoffs. It also will make it a crime for outside groups to hand out food or water to people in line to vote. Unmanned stations with food and water may be provided as long as people are not handing items to voters.
“You have to ban electioneering. And that’s what we’re … focused on,” Miller said on the matter.
Other alterations to the voting procedures reduce the number of ballot drop boxes in the streets, an emergency provision that was common last year due to the pandemic. The law itself authorizes the use of drop boxes for the first time, though they will be located inside buildings.
Another provision makes the Saturday before an election a 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. early voting block, with the option for polling locations to be open on Sunday.
Stacey Abrams, former gubernatorial candidate and a voting rights activists who helped Democrats win Georgia’s Electoral College votes last year for the first time since 1992, has called the voting reform bill “Jim Crow in a suit,” alleging Republicans who backed the bill are attempting to limit access to voting for communities of color.
The CEO of Apple grew up in Alabama and has held a longtime interest in civil rights.
“We support efforts to ensure that our democracy’s future is more hopeful and inclusive than its past,” Cook said.
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On Wednesday, Kemp dismissed critics and defended the passage of the bill, saying, “If they want to have a debate about the merits and the facts of the bill, then we should do that.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Apple but did not immediately receive a response.
