Todd Kirkland/AP
- Hundreds of companies signed a statement opposing restrictive voting laws Wednesday.
- Some notable companies, including Walmart, Delta, and Coca-Cola, opted not to join.
- JPMorgan, which didn't sign, said it made its own statement supporting voting rights last month.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
While hundreds of major companies signed a new letter Wednesday opposing restrictive voting rules in the wake of Georgia's election law, some notable ones – including Walmart, Coca-Cola, JPMorgan, and Delta Air Lines – declined to join the effort.
The letter, which ran as a full-page ad in the Wednesday edition of The New York Times and Washington Post, opposed "any discriminatory legislation" that limited people's ability to vote. United Airlines, American Express, Facebook, Target, investor Warren Buffett, and others joined the effort.
Last month, a smaller group of companies signed a letter with similar sentiment organized by Black business leaders.
But, the Times reported, several companies declined to sign Wednesday's letter, including Georgia-based Coca-Cola, Delta, and Home Depot, as well as Walmart and JPMorgan Chase.
"We publicly made our own strong statement last month about the critical importance of every citizen being able to exercise their fundamental right to vote," a spokesperson for JPMorgan said.
The bank's chief executive, Jamie Dimon, was one of the first major business leaders to speak out against the law, saying on CNN that he encourages workers to exercise their right to vote and opposes any efforts that would prevent them from doing so.
When asked about not signing onto Wednesday's statement, a spokesperson for Home Depot said: "We've decided that the most appropriate approach for us to take is to continue to underscore our belief that all elections should be accessible, fair and secure and support broad voter participation, and to continue to work to ensure our associates in Georgia and across the country have the information and resources to vote."
Coca-Cola didn't respond to a request for comment. The beverage-maker faced consumer boycotts last month for not doing enough to oppose the bill. It later said it wanted to be "crystal clear" that it was disappointed in the outcome of the Georgia voting law. That sparked former President Donald Trump, a noted Diet Coke fanatic, to tell his followers to protest the company.
Delta and Walmart also didn't respond to Insider's request for comment.
Amid pressure to condemn the Georgia voting law, Delta CEO Ed Bastian blasted the legislation last month, saying it was "based on a lie."
The Times reported that Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told employees in a note that the company is "not in the business of partisan politics," noting that the retailer focuses on business issues such as taxes and regulation. In the note, he added that "broad participation and trust in the election process" are essential to the integrity of elections.
In March, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the election bill, known as SB202, into law. The legislation made ballot drop boxes permanent, but only at select locations during limited hours, and shortened the window for requesting absentee ballots. The law also banned ballot selfies, and expanded early voting dates and hours in most counties, among other restrictive measures.