CNBC reports:

Civil rights and activist groups are turning up the pressure on large Georgia companies like Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines to oppose sweeping voting restrictions proposed by Republican state legislators.

“We’ve got the power of organized people. They’ve got the power of organized money. And between us and them, we could put pressure on these legislators or, worst case scenario, the governor to kill these bills,” Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, told CNBC.

Groups including Black Voters Matter, the New Georgia Project Action Fund and the Georgia NAACP on Friday launched the next phase of their campaign in local press and on social media asking supporters to directly contact CEOs, presidents and headquarters of major Georgia-based corporations. They’re urging them to speak out publicly against the proposed voting restrictions and to stop donating money to the Republican legislators sponsoring the bills.

The voter restriction bills come after historic turnout from Georgia voters — particularly from Black voters and voters of color — during the November general and January runoff elections, where Republicans lost the presidential and U.S. Senate races for the first time in decades.

“It’s very, very disappointing after the outpouring of civic engagement all across the state that the legislature would then seek to make it more difficult for Georgia citizens to participate in choosing their elected officials,” Andrea Young, executive director of the Georgia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in an interview.

Republican lawmakers in March passed a bill in the state Senate that would eliminate no-excuse absentee voting, and in the House that would limit weekend early voting, increase ID requirements for absentee voting and restrict ballot drop boxes: SB 241 and HB 531. These proposed restrictions would disproportionately harm Black voters, an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice found.

Advocacy groups are turning to Georgia’s powerful business community because they say trying to sway GOP lawmakers alone has little effect.

“These companies employ hundreds of thousands of Georgia voters who are going to directly be impacted by these laws,” Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, told CNBC. “Voter suppression is not good for business.” [Continue reading…]