Press Releases
New TV Ads Call Corporations’ Bluff: They Can’t Support Both Voting Rights and the U.S. Chamber
Accountable.US’ ‘Drop The Chamber’ Campaign Turns Up Pressure on Microsoft, Target, and Salesforce to Honor Their Stated Values
Washington, D.C. — Government watchdog Accountable.US is launching a wave of television and digital ads as part of its “Drop The Chamber” campaign – a major effort challenging corporations that claim to support voting rights to prove it by cutting ties with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over its well-documented history of funding voter suppression efforts and opposing voting rights measures, such as its ongoing lobbying blitz against H.R.1, the For the People Act. The ad ‘Voices’ airs this week in the Washington D.C., Seattle, San Francisco and Minneapolis-St. Paul media markets.
The ad directly calls out Microsoft, Target, and Salesforce [Click to View Each Version] where they are based, while in the nation’s capital the ad appeals to all other U.S. Chamber member companies that signed onto a recent ad in the New York Times claiming to oppose “any discriminatory legislation or measures that restrict or prevent any eligible voter from having an equal and fair opportunity to cast a ballot.” The effort includes digital ads on YouTube, display ads on key news websites, and social media ads targeting employees of these corporations.
The media blitz comes after Accountable.US’ letters appealing directly to the CEOs of Microsoft, Target, and Salesforce to demonstrate their values were effectively ignored last month. An analysis from Accountable.US found these companies have been particularly out front on the issue of voting rights.
“Companies can’t have it both ways: They can’t tell their shareholders, employees and customers they support voting rights while funding a group leading the charge to undermine that right, particularly in communities of color,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. “They must either drop the U.S. Chamber or go against their corporate values and public commitments to protect voting rights for all Americans.”
It is critical that corporations be consistent in their values on this issue at a time when there is a large-scale assault on voter access taking place in state legislatures across the country, including Georgia, Arizona, Florida, and Texas – efforts that could go unchecked if the Chamber’s “fierce” opposition to H.R. 1 and its voting rights reforms are successful.
“Paying lip service to voting rights while backing its opponents is an insult to the millions of Americans, including their employees, who will be subject to a wave racist voter suppression laws that are already taking hold,” added Herrig.
PREVIOUSLY FROM ACCOUNTABLE.US:
# # #
