Georgia threatens to strip Delta of its multi-million dollar tax break after the CEO criticized state's voter ID laws which critics say will reduce minority voting
Georgia on Thursday threatened to strip Delta of its multi-million dollar tax break after the airline's CEO criticized the state's new voter ID laws as 'unacceptable'.
The new law adds a photo ID requirement for voting absentee by mail, cuts the amount of time people have to request an absentee ballot and limits where drop boxes can be placed and when they can be accessed.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the legislation was 'based on a lie' that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen after.
Republicans in the Georgia House appeared to retaliate to his comments Wednesday, voting to strip Delta of a tax break worth tens of millions of dollars annually.
The vote was in reality rendered symbolic when the state Senate failed to take up the measure before adjourning its yearly session.
But it points to potential political retaliations for Bastian and Delta as well as other businesses who voice disproval of policy.
Georgia's Republican House Speaker David Ralston told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 'They like our public policy when we're doing things that benefit them. You don't feed a dog that bites your hand.'
CEO Bastian said: 'This is something that's more than money. This is about protecting the voices of our people.'
Republicans in the Georgia House voted to strip Delta of a tax break worth tens of millions of dollars annually Wednesday, pictured. The vote was in reality rendered symbolic when the state Senate failed to take up the measure before adjourning its yearly session
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the legislation was 'based on a lie' that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen after. His criticisms came despite a photo ID being required to board one of the airline's flights
Civil rights activists and black business executives have said the sweeping measures - signed by Governor Brian Kemp signed the measure last Thursday - target non-white voters and threatens the democratic process.
The law also bans people from handing out food or water to voters waiting in line.
And it allows the Republican-controlled State Election Board to remove and replace county election officials while curtailing the power of the secretary of state as Georgia's chief elections officer.
Republican Governor Brian Kemp signs the law S.B. 202, a voting law that activists have said aimed to curtail the influence of black voters who were instrumental in state elections that helped Democrats win the White House and narrow control of the U.S. Senate
Megan Dominy offers water and snacks to people waiting in line to cast their ballots at an early voting location in the Smyrna Community Center on October 24, 2020, in Smyrna, Georgia
After Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the new law last week, Delta issued a statement promoting parts of the law such as expanded weekend voting, but said 'we understand concerns remain over other provisions...and there continues to be work ahead in this important effort.'
But after Civil rights activists blamed influential executives for not helping spike the new law Delta joined Coca-Cola in pivoting from earlier, more equivocal statements and called the law 'unacceptable'.
That opened an unusual rift with Republican leaders who championed the legislation and typically enjoy a cozy relationship with the state's business community.
Bastian told employees in a memo Wednesday: 'The entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie: that there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 elections. This is simply not true.
'Unfortunately, that excuse is being used in states across the nation that are attempting to pass similar legislation to restrict voting rights.'
Delta CEO Ed Bastian wrote this memo, telling employees: 'The entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie: that there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 elections. This is simply not true'
Bastian said Delta 'joined other major Atlanta corporations to work closely with elected officials from both parties, to try and remove some of the most egregious measures from the bill. We had some success in eliminating the most suppressive tactics that some had proposed.'
But, he said, 'I need to make it crystal clear that the final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta's values.'
Gov. Kemp hit back: 'Today's statement by Delta CEO Ed Bastian stands in stark contrast to our conversations with the company, ignores the content of the new law, and unfortunately continues to spread the same false attacks being repeated by partisan activists.'
Speaking later on CNBC, Coca-Cola chief executive James Quincey called the legislation a 'step backward.'
Democrat Joe Biden won the presidential race in Georgia by about 12,000 votes out of almost 5 million cast, and Democrats won two Jan. 5 Senate runoffs to give the party control of the chamber on Capitol Hill.
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