After Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed the Election Integrity Act of 2021 into law, voting rights activists have called for boycotts of Georgia businesses in an effort to combat the controversial bill, which ultimately seeks to suppress Black voter turnout. One of the proposed boycotts is the Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines who, along with Coca-Cola, has been accused of not taking a forceful enough stand against the Election Integrity Act. In light of the heightened public scrunity, Delta CEO Ed Bastian has since issued a memo (to employees), in which he condemns the controversial bill and vows to work towards expanding voter rights.
“Since the bill’s inception, 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,” Bastian wrote. “We had some success in eliminating the most suppressive tactics that some had proposed. However, I need to make it crystal clear that the final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta’s values.”
Bastian went even further with his displeasure by stating that “the entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie.” That lie is, of course, the widespread accusation from Donald Trump and Republicans that rampant voter fraud was committed during the 2020 presidential election and Senate run-off. Those accusations have not held up in court and have resulted in several multi-billion dollar lawsuits against Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and right-wing media organizations such as Fox News.
You can see the full memo from Delta CEO Ed Bastian below:
Here is @Delta memo from CEO on Georgia voting bill: “I need to make it crystal clear that the final bill is unacceptable… 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” pic.twitter.com/1KetMY6Ihh
— David Shepardson (@davidshepardson) March 31, 2021
(Via Delta)