AT&T donates to Texas Republicans as they push racially motivated voter suppression bills

Just when you thought AT&T’s support of right-wing causes couldn’t get any more inexcusable, it got even worse.

As Texas Republicans try to ram through legislation to restrict voting, a stunning new analysis by government watchdog Accountable.US found that AT&T’s corporate PAC gave a $100,000 donation to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection campaign on June 22 — days after the governor vetoed funding for the legislature to punish brave lawmakers who shutdown a vote on racially motivated voter suppression bills.

This massive donation comes after AT&T’s CEO said earlier this year that he “believed the right to vote is sacred” but “election laws are…ultimately the responsibility of elected officials.”

In this case, however, AT&T has made clear which side they’re on — and it’s not on the side of defending our fundamental right to vote.

The analysis by Accountable.US also found that AT&T gave multiple donations to Texas state lawmakers after they publicly supported or voted for these racist voter suppression bills in the state legislature, which have been billed as “largest step back since Jim Crow” and “the worst anti-voting bills in the country.” 

Some of the donations to Republican Texas lawmakers include:

• $20,000 to Texas State Sen. Kelly Hancock
• $5,000 to Texas State Sen. Robert Lee Nichols
• $5,000 to Texas State Rep. Phil King
• $2,500 to Texas State Rep. Trent Ashby

These donations are in addition to the contributions AT&T has made to state lawmakers behind some of the worst voter suppression bills in the country. As we previously highlighted, AT&T tops the list of corporate voter suppression contributors, giving $811,000 to state lawmakers supporting these bills, and, as of March of this year, AT&T donated $574,500 to the backers of Texas voter suppression bills since 2018. 

As Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US, put it, “Money talks, and as states like Texas actively attempt to suppress the freedom to vote, corporations need to pick a side and fight back against racist attacks on our democracy. Unfortunately, it appears AT&T is more invested in being on the wrong side of history.”

Here at CREDO, we’ve picked our side of history in the fight to protect voting rights — ever since we were founded more than 35 years ago. While AT&T claims publicly to support voting rights, then uses their revenue to donate to politicians preventing people of color from casting ballots, we’re funding progressive organizations who are working to make it easier to vote.

In fact, since 1985, our members who use our products and services every day have helped us donate over $10 million to voting rights groups like Black Voters Matter, Fair Fight Action, Vote.org and the Brennan Center for Justice (a July grantee you can vote for right now).

If you or your loved ones are considering making the switch from AT&T, join the only carrier empowering climate justice, economic justice, civil rights and voting rights by connecting our members to great mobile service to make this world a better place. Visit CREDOMobile.com to learn more.