Surry County in North Carolina has banned Coca-Cola machines after the company’s CEO called the restrictive voting law passed in Georgia “unacceptable” and “a step backwards.”
The ban passed last month during a Board of Commissioners meeting on a 3-2 vote.
In a letter written to Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey, Commissioner Ed Harris said Quincey’s comments regarding the Georgia election bill was “corporate political commentary favoring the Democratic party.”
“Our Board felt that was the best way to take a stand and express our disappointment in Coca-Cola’s actions, which are not representative of most views of our citizens,” he wrote according to NBC News. “Our Board hopes that other organizations across the country are taking similar stances against Coca-Cola and sincerely wishes that future marketing efforts and comments emanating from your company are more considerate of all your customers’ viewpoints.”
Harris also claimed in his letter that the company supports “the out-of-control cancel culture and bigoted leftist mob” when it chooses the social issues it wants to speak up about.
“Michael Jordan once said ‘Republicans buy sneakers too’ when asked why he didn’t make public comments about politics,” Harris wrote. “Citizens of Surry County and across America are growing increasingly tired of large multinational corporations and their CEOs pushing an increasingly intolerant, bigoted, left-wing, divisive political agenda on its customers.”
A spokesperson for the beverage company said they are aware of the measure passed in the county.
“Representatives from our local bottler have reached out to the county commissioners, and they look forward to continuing their productive conversations with those officials,” the Coca-Cola spokesperson told NBC News.
After the bill was passed in Georgia, companies like Coca-Cola publicly decried the measure, calling it voter suppression and noted that it restricts access to the ballot for minority voters.
“Voting is a foundational right in America, and we have long championed efforts to make it easier to vote,” Quincey wrote in a statement after the bill was signed into law. “We want to be crystal clear and state unambiguously that we are disappointed in the outcome of the Georgia voting legislation. Throughout Georgia’s legislative session we provided feedback to members of both legislative chambers and political parties, opposing measures in the bills that would diminish or deter access to voting.”
