Ford, General Motors, and 30 other Michigan companies are denouncing voting bills introduced by the Michigan state Senate.
The businesses released a joint statement Tuesday saying they are united for principles such as equal ballot access, and against moves that limit voting in “historically disenfranchised communities.”
“Our nation is strongest when we stand together,” the corporations said in the joint statement. “We call on our elected officials to adopt these principles as they proceed in the spirit of inclusion and equality.”
The statement also criticized measures in the 39-bill package from the state Senate, which includes controlling absentee ballot applications and counting; improving election clerk training; empowering poll watchers to better observe electoral activity; and more.
Voters would have to show identification to get an absentee ballot, and governments would be prohibited from providing prepaid postage on ballot envelopes.
But Michigan Senate Republican leaders viewed the legislation not as an effort to disenfranchise communities, but as a bipartisan effort to bolster voter integrity in communities.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) said that he is looking to work with colleagues across the aisle on these bills, adding that the legislative process has only just begun.
“At all times, we must use logic, not political sentiment or ‘wokeness’ to build good public policy that will serve all Michiganders and safeguard our democracy,” he said in a statement. “If having an ID is viewed as an obstacle to voting because there is a problem with getting ID, let’s solve that problem.”
Companies are also protesting voting bills in other states. American Airlines, for example, protested Texas state Senate Bill 7, an election integrity bill, because the company said it “limited voting access.”
