Ford, GM CEOs sign letter opposing voter restrictions in Michigan

The chief executives of auto giants Ford and General Motors urged Michigan lawmakers not to pass measures that would be seen as restricting people from accessing ballots.

Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley and General Motors CEO Mary Barra led a letter to state lawmakers that included 38 Michigan business leaders, saying that changes in voting laws shouldn’t prevent access to casting ballots, particularly ones that impact minority communities, Bloomberg reported.

“Our nation is strongest when we stand together,” the letter said, according to Bloomberg. “We call on our elected officials to adopt these principles as they proceed in the spirit of inclusion and equality.” 

Farley and Barra were joined on the letter by leaders of Detroit’s major sports franchises, as well as CEOs of Michigan-based companies like Stellantis NV, American Axle & Manufacturing, BorgWarner Inc. and Continental AG.

The letter outlined eight principles that should be preserved as Michigan’s GOP-controlled Senate considers a vote on voting measures.

The principals included the notion that government should avoid actions that reduce participation in elections, that government has a responsibility to improve and strengthen elections and that the election laws be developed in a bipartisan way.

Republican proposals being considered in Michigan include requiring identification to get an absentee ballot and prohibiting ballot drop boxes after 5 p.m. before Election Day, according to Bloomberg.

The CEOs are following other corporate leaders such as Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines following passage of voter laws in Georgia seen as imposing further restrictions. Major League Baseball last week moved its All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver to protest the state’s new voting law.