CEOs plan next moves against restrictive voting laws

Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility President & CEO Cid Wilson joined Yahoo Finance Live to discuss how CEOs are planning to move against restrictive voting laws.

Video transcript

ADAM SHAPIRO: Let's bring into the stream a friend of this program, been around for a long time. He is familiar to you, Cid Wilson, who is the Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility president and CEO. And we invited Cid in because the discussion that is happening nationwide, as we watch what happened with the voting law in Georgia and we've seen the pushback from people on both sides of the issue as it moves now to Texas, we wanted to get your take on things. And let me ask a very simple question. How do you get people who may be at the top tier of our society who think these laws actually are protecting voting, how do you get them to see the fact that restricting voting and cutting down on the ability to vote is un-American?

CID WILSON: Well first, thank you, Adam. It's great to be back. A couple of things that's so important to understand is, number one, our American society was built on the premise that all of us must participate in our democracy, and that includes the right to vote and the access to the voting booth. We know that there has been a long history, particularly in the southern states, that have had histories of voter suppression.

And that's why, when we see what's happening in Georgia for the law that passed there, the legislation that is in the works in Texas and 45 other states where there's legislation being pushed, that this is not good, not only for the companies, but for your employees, for your shareholders, and for our society as a whole. So we continue to push for the fact that diversity and inclusion doesn't end at the doors of your company. You must participate in this process, which many companies do.

SEANA SMITH: And Cid, there's been this call for corporate America to step up and put some of their words into action. More than 100 CEOs held a virtual call over the weekend to discuss these new voter laws in terms of the next steps and what these businesses should do. What should that action look like?

CID WILSON: So first, I praise the CEOs who have been very vocal and have come forward and said that the Georgia law is wrong, period, plain and simple. It is a voter suppression law, surgically targeted towards Blacks, Latinos, and people of color, as well as the law that is being pushed through Texas. What Fortune 500 CEOs and all corporate CEOs should be doing is, one, is they should be re-evaluating the government relations [AUDIO OUT] stuff into with the elected officials at the local, state, and federal level.

And secondly is that they must make sure that, as they think about their philanthropic strategy to support organizations that do not [AUDIO OUT] voter registration, non-partison voter education. That they be a partner in that process because we want Americans to be able to vote without restrictions that are artificially created by some of these states. That's where we're hoping to really be a leader. And I commend the CEOs that have stepped forward and done the right thing.

ADAM SHAPIRO: But in the cases of the CEOs from Delta Airlines and from Coca-Cola, where were they before the law was passed? Isn't that the time they should have been vocal? We're seeing that in Texas, but even there, what kind of clout will it truly have?

CID WILSON: So it's very important to recognize that I do thank Ed Bastian, the CEO for Delta Airlines, for reversing. Because the first statement that came out, which was one that was surprising to all of us, and it took leaders such as Ken Chenault and Ken Frazier and Mellody Hobson, many other leaders to say, you need to look at the impact and what's the intent of this bill in terms of voter suppression. So they were late. The Georgia companies were late.

But I feel like they now understand why this was such a bad bill. And I think that's where you're seeing all of the Texas-based companies-- American Airlines and Dell and AT&T and others-- that are saying, we cannot support legislation that's suppress our constitutional right to vote. That's the important metric. Voting is not a privilege. It is a constitutional right. And that's why-- and these are employees at the companies as well as customers like us that are watching closely on how corporate America will be engaging.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Cid Wilson is the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility president and CEO. We appreciate seeing you and look forward to your next--