Pushback on voting rights laws gains momentum

Big business has ratcheted up its objections to proposals that would make it harder to vote, with several hundred companies and executives signing a new statement opposing “any discriminatory legislation.”

The letter, published Wednesday in The New York Times and The Washington Post, was signed by companies including Amazon, Google, Starbucks and Bank of America, and individuals such as Warren Buffett and Michael Bloomberg, plus law firms and nonprofit groups.

It was the largest group yet to join in protests against Republican efforts to change election rules in several states.

“Voting is the lifeblood of our democracy and we call upon all Americans to join us in taking a nonpartisan stand for this most basic and fundamental right of all Americans,” the letter reads. “We all should feel a responsibility to defend the right to vote and oppose any discriminatory legislation or measures that restrict or prevent any eligible voter from having an equal and fair opportunity to cast a ballot.”

Many of the signers have been loyal donors to Republican political campaigns.

The letter is a direct challenge to Republican officials who have pushed for changes in state voting laws, citing former President Donald Trump’s unproven claim that he lost the November election because of fraud. At the same time, Democrats in Congress propose to overhaul federal voting law in a way that Republicans argue would interfere with state control of elections and hurt the GOP.

This week, the leaders of three dozen major Michigan companies, including General Motors and Ford, objected to election bills that would make it harder to vote in Michigan and other states.