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Washington, D.C. — As Senate Republicans block even having a debate on the Freedom To Vote Act, government watchdog Accountable.US released a new analysis revealing that several companies — including Verizon, Target, and Amazon — that publicly support voting rights have donated $174,000 in 2021 alone to the Senate Republicans who are so vehemently against the most significant voting rights bill in generations.  

“Flowery statements from big corporations in support of democracy mean nothing so long as they keep cutting huge checks to the very Senate Republicans denying the freedom to vote to millions of Americans,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. “With the rights of so many voters of color and people with disabilities on the line, corporations are selling their customers and shareholders a bill of goods about what they really care about – maintaining political influence. 

“There’s too much at stake to let obstructionist Republican Senators shut down even having a debate on the freedom to vote after so many good faith efforts at compromise,” added Herrig. “Corporations can show they mean business on preserving democracy by urging the Senate to remove any outdated loopholes and barriers that stand in the way of passing urgently needed voting protections.”   

The urgently-needed Freedom to Vote Act that Senate Republicans are obstructing, is supported by 7 in 10 Americans, would ensure fair representation, limit the influence of big money in our politics, and make our government accountable to the people rather than a wealthy few.  

This week, Accountable.US released a new report revealing that several leading U.S. corporations that have publicly claimed to support voting rights quietly gave thousands of dollars to attorneys general threatening to block the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.  

KEY POINTS FROM THE REPORT:  

  • Verizon opined the importance of expanding the vote, but this year donated $87,000 to Senate Republicans. 
     
  • Target co-signed a letter urging Congress to pass voting rights reform legislation, but still donated a total of $30,500 to Senate Republicans who oppose any of those reforms.
     
  • Amazon spoke out against legislation enacting discriminatory voting restrictions, but this year donated $28,000 Republican Senators who refuse to support the Freedom to Vote Act.  
     
  • Citigroup’s Head Of Global Public Affairs, Edward Skyler, said on LinkedIn that the company believed in the right to vote and opposed efforts to undermine the ability of Americans to exercise this right, but the company still gave $10,000 to Senate Republicans.  
     
  • Walgreens’ Boot Alliance claimed to support secure, and fair access to voting, but this year still donated $8,500 to Republicans who will not support the Freedom to Vote Act. 
     
  • Walmart claimed they supported increased voter participation, but the company still donated $10,000 to Republicans this year.   

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