Several dozen of the country’s top CEOs met recently to discuss, and to begin planning, a response to voter integrity laws being crafted in states all over the nation.
In response to allegations of rampant election fraud last November several states have begun debating legislation to tighten security around voting and elections. Notable among the states that have taken such steps is Georgia. A recent bill signed into law there institutes new regulations such as a cutoff date for the receipt of mail-in ballots of 11 days before an election and makes it possible to reject absentee ballots if conditions aren’t met.
Most controversial in the new Georgia law is that it requires a valid state ID number in order to vote. Democratic lawmakers have alleged such a voter-ID requirement disenfranchises poorer voters and voters of color. Studies have called such allegations into question, however.
The CEO meeting, held virtually, brought together titans of the American business community from the health care, media and transportation industries, among others. Some of the attendees included: Arthur Blank, owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons; James Murdoch and his wife, Kathryn Hufschmid; Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Theatres; Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart; Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines and Bob Bakish, president and CEO of ViacomCBS.
“The gathering was an enthusiastic voluntary statement of defiance against threats of reprisals for exercising their patriotic voices,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale University management professor who helped organize the conference.
The meeting was also organized by Lynn Forester de Rothschild, the founding partner of Inclusive Capitalism LLC, an organization that tries to devote corporate resources to social and political movements.
For reference, here’s Lynn Forester de Rothschild, the organizer of the weekend call of 100 multinational corporate chieftains who oppose election integrity reforms.
I wonder why they so vigorously oppose our populist movement?…https://t.co/5KuCwj9ZHR pic.twitter.com/KHk1rbTuEo
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) April 12, 2021
Attendees say there were no concrete plans of action decided on during the call but that a loose plan to draft next steps catered to an individual firm’s size and resources was agreed upon.
ITN requested comment from one of the conference’s organizers Professor Sonnenfeld. Specifically we asked whether he is worried that by taking stances on political issues U.S. firms will no longer be seen as a corporations but as a political entities. Also, whether he is worried about the long term effects on the country of politicizing every aspect of society.
Sonnenfeld called our questions “excellent and important,” and as a response sent us a sneak preview of an op-ed he penned for The Wall Street Journal set to be published tomorrow. In the piece he argues American corporations have long been politically active and encourages them to continue being so.
“In 1962, Atlanta’s mayor dubbed it ‘the city too busy to hate.’ Two years later, when Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize, Coke’s CEO warned Atlanta leaders to honor King on his return or risk the company’s relocation. This year, when the CEOs of Coke and Delta followed these footsteps, the state GOP threatened them for their free speech with boycotts and retaliatory tax punishment. Talk about cancel culture!’” Sonnenfeld writes.
“American religious history produced four Great Awakenings—and now American business is sparking a fifth spiritual awakening,” he adds.
ITN also posed the same questions to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish. Neither of them immediately responded to our requests.
As of March 24, lawmakers in 47 states had introduced voter integrity bills. Fifty-five of the bills are currently moving through legislatures in 24 states. Five of them have been signed into law.