May, 10 2021, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Valentina Stackl, Senior Communications Specialist, Greenpeace USA, vstackl@greenpeace.org
New Report Exposing Corporate Donors of Attacks on Voting Rights and Peaceful Protest
"It is now more urgent than ever to build a just transition away from fossil fuels AND fight off attacks against protest and our freedom to vote, so that we can have a planet our communities can thrive on."
WASHINGTON
Today, Greenpeace USA released a robust analysis of corporate attacks on democracy in the form of contributions to anti-protest bills and anti-voting rights bills. The report, Dollars vs. Democracy: Corporations and the Attack on Voting Rights and Peaceful Protest, has many key pieces of evidence, including:
- Many state legislators and corporations have sponsored and supported both anti-voter and anti-protest bills:
- 44 state legislators sponsored at least one anti-protest bill and one anti-voter bill in the past year.
Of the top 100 corporations contributing to anti-voter bill sponsors, 53 are also among the top 100 corporate contributors to anti-protest bill sponsors.
The 10 companies that invested the most in lobbying for anti-protest bills since 2017 are all fossil fuel companies.
- 44 state legislators sponsored at least one anti-protest bill and one anti-voter bill in the past year.
- Even though a growing number of companies have spoken out in defense of democracy and voting rights many of these same companies contributed to legislators sponsoring anti-voting or anti-protest bills during their most recent election cycle.
- Of the 100 companies who endorsed the April 14 "We Stand for Democracy," statement opposing "any discriminatory legislation or measures that restrict or prevent any eligible voter from having an equal and fair opportunity to cast a ballot, 12 contributed to the sponsors of 43 anti-voter bills analyzed.
- In the wake of the insurrection, at least 130 companies "paused" PAC contributions to members of the "insurrection caucus." But, at least 47 of these companies contributed to the sponsors of anti-voter legislation introduced since the January 6th insurrection.
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes the For The People Act (H.R. 1/ S. 1), despite the fact that many individual member companies oppose anti-voter legislation.
- Executives from six corporations that have spoken out against anti-voter legislation -- IBM, Boston Consulting Group, United Airlines, Microsoft, Deloitte, and Ford -- currently serve on the Chamber's board of directors, its principal policy-making body.
- At least six state and regional affiliates of the U.S. Chamber have also lobbied in favor of anti-protest laws.
- All of this adds up to a clear takeaway: conservative lawmakers and the corporations that sponsor them are using tactics to squash protests and disenfranchise voters to silence Black, Brown, and Indigenous people protecting their communities.
Folabi Olagbaju, Greenpeace USA Democracy Campaigns Director, said:
"A healthy democracy is a precondition for a healthy environment. When everyone's vote counts and when everyone's constitutionally guaranteed right to peacefully protest is protected, our government becomes more accountable and capable of meeting the demand for racial justice and enacting solutions to the rapidly accelerating climate crisis.
"We hope this report sheds light on who is behind the attack on our democracy and right to protest, and that it will push corporations to take a stand for strong national standards for voting rights and election reform and quit supporting politicians who sponsor or vote for anti-voter and anti-protest legislation. It's time to ensure all of us have a say in key decisions that affect us all and our elections reflect the will of the people, not corporations. It is now more urgent than ever to build a just transition away from fossil fuels AND fight off attacks against protest and our freedom to vote, so that we can have a planet our communities can thrive on."
Jana Morgan, Declaration for American Democracy Director said:
"Despite the promising news of corporations speaking out against anti-voter laws in states like Georgia, Greenpeace's latest report demonstrates that there's more to be done to make the promise of democracy real for us all. It's time to end the dominance of big corporations and big money in our politics, and ensure that our politicians are held accountable to the will of all Americans, and not just the wealthy and powerful.
"To do so, corporations and our political leaders must support passing the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. These transformative bills will ensure that politicians govern in the best interest of the people, and ensure the freedom to vote for all Americans. Corporate platitudes are not enough -- we must build a system that ensures our elected leaders listen to every American. Our time is now: democracy cannot wait."
Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
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