This time around, however, the entertainment industry has taken a more cautious approach.
When asked for comment, Disney, Netflix, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment and ViacomCBS said either they did not have a public comment or did not respond to inquiries. The Motion Picture Association, Hollywood’s lobby group, declined to comment, as did Amazon Studios, which six months ago released “All In: The Fight For Democracy,” a documentary about the efforts of Ms. Abrams and other activists to break down electoral barriers in Georgia and elsewhere. WarnerMedia, owned by AT&T, said its parent company is working with local chambers of commerce to promote “accessible and secure voting”.
The fight in Georgia is likely a preview of things to come. Legislators in dozens of states have proposed similar electoral laws, and activists plan to put pressure on American businesses as the struggle for the right to vote becomes national.
Meanwhile, companies are trying to maintain a delicate balancing act. Although the Georgian law passed on Thursday was less stringent than originally proposed, it introduced stricter requirements on voter identification for postal voting, limited dropboxing, and expanded legislature’s power over elections.
After it was passed, Delta and Coca-Cola seemed to gain some credit for helping to ease the bill’s restrictions. Delta said it had “been dealing extensively with state-elected officials” over the past few weeks and “the laws signed this week have improved significantly during the legislative process.”
Coca-Cola made a similar statement, stating that it had sought “improvements” to the law and “continued to identify opportunities for engagement and improvements to promote and protect the right to vote in our home state and elsewhere”.
Those words were cold comfort to activists who had worked against efforts to restrict voting rights.
“They made gentle statements instead of getting out,” said Ms. Groh-Wargo of Fair Fight. “It is ridiculous.”
