The County Commissioners of Surry County, North Carolina, voted to ban all Coca-Cola beverage vending machines from the county office buildings in late May.
The 3-2 vote was a response to the soft drink manufacturer’s criticism of voting reforms laws passed in Georgia, WXII NBC 12 reported.
“The left wing in America, they defund, they boycott, they cancel, they tear down statues – all sorts of egregious actions,” county commissioner Eddie Harris told WXII in a video interview. “The expectation from them is the opposing political side will cower in the corner and we’re supposed to accept that and it’s supposed to be OK. And it’s not OK.” (RELATED: FACT CHECK: Is Georgia Removing All Coca-Cola Products From All State-Owned Buildings?)
Harris wrote a letter to the CEO of Coca-Cola criticizing the company’s activism regarding the Georgia legislation, WXII reported.
It’s happening… https://t.co/hcaogXbH8t
— Eric Metaxas (@ericmetaxas) June 3, 2021
“Millions of Americans believe that the last presidential election was not held in a fair manner and that more voter fraud will occur in the future if elections are not closely monitored and regulated,” Harris wrote in the letter, according to WXII.
James Quincey, Coca-Cola CEO, criticized the law at the time of the vote as it was widely panned by Democrats and corporate media figures. (RELATED: ‘Jim Crow 2.0’: Critics Compare Georgia’s Voting Integrity Bill To Racial Segregation)
“Our focus is now on supporting federal legislation that protects voting access and addresses voter suppression across the country,” he said. “We all have a duty to protect everyone’s right to vote, and we will continue to stand up for what is right in Georgia and across the U.S.”
Other corporations have publicly spoken out against the law. Major League Baseball (MLB) responded to the voting reform laws by relocating their annual All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver earlier this year. MLB has since been sued over the move.
Harris felt the main issue goes beyond Coca-Cola and that it was time to stand up to “left-wing” politics, WXII reported. He said he hopes his county’s actions will start a trend, and that the response to the vote has been mostly positive.
The machines have yet to be removed from the county buildings but a Coca-Cola Consolidated spokesman told WXII they’ve reached out to the commissioners.