Corporate America continues to take a stand against the GOP’s nationwide rush to pass legislation that makes it harder to vote. American Airlines and Dell, two major employers with headquarters in Texas, have come out in strong opposition to bills making their way through the state legislature that would restrict voting.
The legislation in question is called Senate Bill 7, and it is now headed to the House for further deliberation. The bill would limit early voting hours, prohibit drive-thru voting and make it illegal for local election officials to proactively send applications to vote by mail to voters, even if they qualify. American Air issued a statement clearly stating they are against the bill.
“Earlier this morning, the Texas State Senate passed legislation with provisions that limit voting access. To make American’s stance clear: We are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it.”
Dell founder Michael Dell tweeted his thoughts as well.
American and Dell’s opposition comes the same week as Atlanta-based companies Coca-Cola and Delta decried Georgia’s just-passed new voting law, which many say is a poorly-disguised voter-suppression act.
Taking a stand on political hot-button issues may seem strange for corporations, but activists have been putting pressure for large employers to pick a side in the fight over voting rights, or face the consequences. Delta, in fact, was basically forced to issue a stronger statement after its initial response on Georgia’s voting law was slammed.