Cummins Inc. Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger issued the following statement in response to recent legislation signed into law in Georgia which impacts voting rights for many citizens in that state:
"Cummins supports the Business Roundtable’s recent statement on the importance of voting, and we agree 'the right to vote is the essence of a democratic society.' We are active in, and support, efforts to advance voter accessibility and to make this fundamental right more broadly available. We are stronger as a nation when more people vote and are engaged in the civic process. We believe efforts to restrict voting access are discriminatory, largely aimed at our Black and brown citizens, and have no place in the inclusive communities we are committed to building.
"We stand today as advocates for inclusion and equity, as we did in 1963 when our then CEO J. Irwin Miller supported Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington. We have a proud and long history of advocacy for those who are marginalized and oppressed, and we will continue to speak out on their behalf. Diversity, equity and inclusion make our communities stronger and more vibrant. We call on elected officials – at the federal, state and local levels – to advance efforts to provide greater voting access. We also call on leaders of companies and communities in every state around the country to do their part to make it clear that we will not tolerate discriminatory voting practices.
"Voting is a core civil rights issue, and we have been engaged in this battle far too long. We will not stop until voting is accessible to all people in our country. Anything less diminishes our democracy."
Cummins is one of several companies which are expressing their concern over the new legislation in Georgia.
