Top US firms that backed Voting Rights Act donate to groups working to undermine it

Watchdog data shared with Guardian shows contributions to Republican Attorneys General Association and others

Over a dozen US companies that signed a 2021 letter urging Congress to strengthen the Voting Rights Act continue to contribute to state political groups that are actively working to undermine the legislation, according to a campaign finance watchdog.

Researchers at the Center for Political Accountability (CPA), a nonpartisan organization that tracks financial disclosures, found that companies – including Airbnb, DoorDash, Target and Zillow – that signed the letter are contributing to groups known as 527 organizations that prop up key state races, according to data provided exclusively to the Guardian.

Four longtime donors to these groups, Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, had either stopped contributing entirely or lowered their contributions to Republican and Democratic groups for the 2022 midterms, but have resumed contributions for the current election cycle.

The January 6 insurrection created a brief reckoning among corporate leaders, many of whom criticized Donald Trump’s role in inciting the violence. The Republican Attorneys General Association (Raga), a 527 organization, was under scrutiny after reports revealed the group sent out robocalls to people encouraging them to attend a “Stop the Steal” rally in front of Congress on January 6 2021 – which preceded the insurrection. Raga leaders later said they had no knowledge of the robocalls.

But the companies have resumed their donations to Raga and, in some cases, have become new contributors to the group. Google’s contribution went from $100,400 in the 2018 election down to $50,000 in 2022. So far this election, the company has donated $325,000 to Raga.

The donations reflect a broader U-turn trend seen among many in corporate America who were publicly critical of Trump and Republicans after the January 6 insurrection and then did an about-face as soon as he was elected back into office.

The 527 organizations are classified as tax-exempt political groups overseen by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). They often fly under the radar compared to political action committees (Pacs) that are overseen by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), but political experts say these 527 groups have enormous influence on the state level by supporting key swing races – and public corporations tend to be their dominant funders.

Compared to their counterparts in Washington, who are often stalled in gridlock, state leaders and legislators often have greater impact in advancing policies that ultimately have a national impact.

State attorneys general have been key in fighting cases in front of the US supreme court that overturn decades of precedent.