What you need to know
- Tim Cook has weighed in on recent changes to voting legislation in Georgia.
- He has told Axios that the right to vote is fundamental to democracy and that American history is the story of expanding that right to all citizens.
- He also said that because of technology, Apple believes voting should be easier than ever.
Tim Cook has said that voting "ought to be easier than ever" in response to a new Georgia voting bill.
As reported by Axios:
Apple CEO Tim Cook, an Alabama native with a lifelong interest in civil rights, joins condemnations of Georgia's new voting law, in a statement provided first to Axios.
In the statement Cook reportedly said:
"The right to vote is fundamental in a democracy. American history is the story of expanding the right to vote to all citizens, and Black people, in particular, have had to march, struggle and even give their lives for more than a century to defend that right."Apple believes that, thanks in part to the power of technology, it ought to be easier than ever for every eligible citizen to exercise their right to vote "We support efforts to ensure that our democracy's future is more hopeful and inclusive than its past."
As Axios notes, the statement comes following a new Georgia bill brought into law last week:
Almost a week after a bill that curbs voting access in Georgia became law — and nearly one month after it passed the state's House — a slew of corporations have come out against voter suppression.
Cook and Apple join other companies and corporations in speaking out against the law. Microsoft has stated "We are concerned by the law's impact on communities of color, on every voter, and on our employees and their families." and that it shares the views of other companies that it is "not only right but essential" that the business community should "stand together in opposition to the harmful provisions and other similar legislation that may be considered elsewhere." Other companies that have added criticism, as tracked by Axios, include American Express, Cisco, and Delta Airlines.
