Voting rights activist and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is imploring corporations and consumers not to boycott Georgia over its new election integrity law.
“I understand the passion of those calling for boycotts of Georgia following the passage of SB 202. Boycotts have been an important tool throughout our history to achieve social change. But here’s the thing. Black, Latino, AAPI, and Native American voters whose votes are the most suppressed under SB 202 are also the most likely to be hurt by potential boycotts of Georgia. To our friends across the country, please do not boycott us,” Abrams said in a video posted Wednesday night.
VIDEO: Thanks to the efforts of activists, organizers and allied organizations, we stopped GA Republican legislators from passing key parts of their voter suppression wish list. Now corporate leaders must use their clout to show they stand with voters. #gapol pic.twitter.com/A3b0McaI1s
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) April 1, 2021
Abrams instead asked corporations to support the H.R. 1 bill currently being considered by the U.S. Senate Senate and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. She also called on them to help provide photo identification to voters so that they can comply with photo ID requirements.
“The companies that stood silently by or gave mealy-mouthed responses during the debate were wrong,” Abrams told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (RELATED: Elizabeth Warren Suggests Stacey Abrams Is Rightful Governor Of Georgia)
In a USA Today op-ed published Wednesday, Abrams emphasized that she does not think Georgians need “to endure the hardships of boycotts … yet.”
The Georgia bill requires that voters provide a photo ID, such as a drivers license, when they submit an absentee ballot. The state previously required photo ID for in-person voting only. It also increases the number of early voting hours. President Joe Biden received four “pinocchios” from a Washington Post fact check for claiming that the bill decreased total voting hours.
Biden called on Major League Baseball to move the 2021 All Star Game from Atlanta over the law change. The National Black Justice Coalition, a civil rights organization, also called on the PGA Tour to move the Masters golf tournament from Augusta National Golf Club where it is played every year. (RELATED: Sen. Raphael Warnock Avoids Saying Whether Boycotts Of His State Should Be ‘On The Table’ In Response To Election Law)
Many Georgia-based corporations, including Delta and Coca-Cola, have criticized the law.
Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp slammed the boycott calls.
“Boycotting Georgia business in the middle of a pandemic is absolutely ridiculous,” he told AJC.