In response to Coca-Cola taking issue with the Georgia election security law passed in March, a county in North Carolina took steps to prohibit Coca-Cola vending machines in office buildings.
Surry County in North Carolina banned machines last week. The county’s longest-serving commissioner, Eddie Harris, called out the company for being too “woke.”
“The left-wing in America, they defund, they boycott, they cancel, they tear down statues — all sorts of egregious actions,” Harris said in an interview with a local NBC news affiliate. “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.”
In a 3 to 2 vote, the GOP-controlled commissioners voted in the affirmative to remove the machines in the future. In addition to discontent with how the company reacted to SB 202, Harris penned a letter to Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“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. The commissioner said he supports adequate election security measures like the one Georgia passed because the 2020 election was “such a mess.”
The Georgia bill mandates voter identification for absentee ballots, among other uncontroversial provisions. Democrats were angered over a portion of the bill that prohibits a poll officer from handing out water to voters, communicating the false narrative that the law bans people from drinking water while waiting in line to vote.
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola Consolidated, a bottling company affiliated with the parent company, told a local news outlet the company plans to initiate a meeting with the county commissioners.
Several corporations virtue-signaled about the Georgia bill prior to and after its passage. Two hundred companies signed a letter in April, declaring, “We call on elected leaders in every state capitol and in Congress to work across the aisle and ensure that every eligible American has the freedom to easily cast their ballot and participate fully in our democracy.”
Coca-Cola did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment.
