January, 11 2022, 12:50pm EDT
Watchdog: Corporations That Claim to Back Voting Rights Hypocritically Gave $640K to Senate Republicans That Obstructed Voting Rights Legislation In 2021
Read the Analysis Here
WASHINGTON
Ahead of President Biden's address today urging Congress to pass federal voting protections, government watchdog Accountable.US released a new analysis finding major corporations that claim to support voting rights awarded at least $644,500 to Senate Republicans who blocked two major federal voting rights bills in 2021, the Freedom to Vote Act (FTVA) and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (JLVRAA). Accountable.US challenged these corporations - including Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Walmart -- to back up their words favoring all Americans having ballot access, especially historically disenfranchised Black and Brown voters.
"As more and more state-level politicians who are committed to the Big Lie push voter suppression measures to deny the freedom to vote to millions of voters of color and people with disabilities, the need to pass federal voting protections could not be more urgent," said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. "Many big name corporations have assured their customers and employees that they recognize that our democracy is especially vulnerable, but then chose to reward politicians seeking to turn voting into a privilege, not a right. These companies are selling the public a bill of goods about what they really care about - holding political influence over as many lawmakers as possible, no matter what values are compromised in the process. If companies truly value the right to vote, it's now or never to prove it."
"Corporations can show they mean business on preserving democracy by urging the Senate to remove any outdated loopholes and barriers that stand in the way of passing urgently needed voting protections," added Herrig.
The FTVA would restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated individuals, ensure people with disabilities have equal access to absentee ballots, and prohibit long wait times to vote--which largely impacts Black and Latino voters. The JLVRAA would restore provisions of the Voting Rights Act and strengthen protections against discriminatory state laws.
Accountable.US is a nonpartisan watchdog that exposes corruption in public life and holds government officials and corporate special interests accountable by bringing their influence and misconduct to light. In doing so, we make way for policies that advance the interests of all Americans, not just the rich and powerful.
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