Apple CEO Tim Cook said voting should be “easier than ever” in a statement to Axios on Thursday.
“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,” Cook said.
“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,” Cook continued. “We support efforts to ensure that our democracy’s future is more hopeful and inclusive than its past.”
The comments come as a number of corporate executives have condemned the Georgia state government’s voting legislation, signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp last week. The law mirrors similar legislation being considered in various state legislatures, in the wake of former President Trump’s claims that Democrats “stole” the November elections through widespread voter fraud.
“I need to make it crystal clear that the final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta’s values,” Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian said on Wednesday. Former American Express CEO Ken Chenault commented following the law’s passage that “Corporations have to stand up. There is no middle ground.”
The law mandates that voters present valid photo identification at polling places and when requesting absentee ballots, and prohibits advocacy groups from distributing food and drinks at polling places.
However, President Biden and Democratic allies have slammed the law as an attempt at voter suppression. Biden has repeatedly compared the legislation to Jim Crow laws.