Following a civil society backlash against their silence, corporations started speaking out against voter restriction laws across the country. However, these corporations appear to be taking a very cautious tone. According to a democracy alert published by Democracy Docket, the voting rights ad published in the New York Times and Washington Post recently was toothless. Democracy Docket stated that:
In a 2-page print ad in the New York Times and Washington Post on Wednesday, hundreds of corporations vaguely decried attacks on voting rights, stating their generalized support for “democracy” and the right to vote. The ad comes as pressure mounts on companies to take a stand against Republican voter suppression legislation that is passing through state legislatures across the country.
The ad stated that these companies shared a “nonpartisan” commitment to “the ability for each of us to cast our ballots for the candidates of our choice.” It did not name specific legislation that the companies take issue with, and indicated no commitment to withdrawing political contributions or taking other tangible action against legislators who push for voter suppression laws. Indeed, some major companies did not even take this vague step of announcing their support for voting; Walmart’s CEO said in a note to employees that the company is “not in the business of partisan politics,” and refused to sign the ad.
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