Posted by Jessica DiNapoli
NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than 150 Companies including Apple Inc, Best Buy Co Inc and PepsiCo, in a letter signed Wednesday, urged U.S. lawmakers to introduce and pass a voting reform bill as other efforts in Congress stalled.
The Companies urged lawmakers to reintroduce the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, an amendment to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, named after US Representative John Lewis, who died nearly a year ago. The law would help prevent election discrimination and provide an improved system for states to report changes in electoral law.
“We have a duty to work until every American can participate in our democracy, but that will not happen until every eligible voter in this country has fair, equitable and safe access to voting,” said Chip Bergh, CEO of Levi Strauss & Co, a signatory to the letter, in a prepared statement.
The Companies are part of a group of corporate executives called Business for Voting Rights.
“The business community prides itself on our role in encouraging our employees, customers and communities to vote and have a say in our government.” Companies wrote in the letter.
US Companies have spoken out in favor of voting reforms and against voting restrictions passed in republican-controlled states like Georgia. Something Companies have come under fire from elected officials because of their offices.
Former President Donald Trump and his supporters made unfounded claims that there had been widespread electoral fraud in the 2020 election.
The Democrats are expected to reinstate the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Reuters reported.
Another major electoral reform law, the For the People Act, has sunk in Congress. President Joe Biden said Tuesday in Philadelphia the bill must be passed but did not outline a way to overcome Republican opposition.
(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Karishma Singh)
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