Georgia governor criticizes ‘ridiculous’ calls for boycotts over voting law

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) criticized calls for boycotts of businesses in the state over its recently passed controversial law tightening voting rules and regulations.

“Boycotting Georgia businesses in the middle of a pandemic is absolutely ridiculous,” Kemp said on Twitter.

Boycotting Georgia businesses in the middle of a pandemic is absolutely ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/rAQie6GuAZ

— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) March 30, 2021

Georgia-based businesses Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola faced boycott calls last week over their refusal to condemn the passage of S.B. 202, which among other things placed limits the use of ballot drop boxes and required photo ID for absentee voting.

The law, which Democrats call a flagrant voter suppression effort, has already been hit with three lawsuits less than a week after Kemp signed it. The most recent was filed on Tuesday in an Atlanta federal court, accusing it of race-based discrimination.

Delta in particular came under fire after CEO Ed Bastian issued a statement on Friday appearing to defend the law. He said “the legislation signed this week improved considerably during the legislative process, and expands weekend voting, codifies Sunday voting and protects a voter’s ability to cast an absentee ballot without providing a reason.”

Still, the airline said “we understand concerns remain over other provisions in the legislation, and there continues to be work ahead in this important effort.”

In a Fox News interview, Kemp said it was wrong to punish “hard-working” Georgians who are trying to work their way through the pandemic.

“It’s wrong for people — especially a lot of these activists from out of state that are benefitting financially from pushing this narrative,” he said. “To punish hard-working Georgians, great institutions like the Masters and Major League Baseball that by the way employ a lot of hard-working Georgians, that are trying to fight through this pandemic.”