Coca-Cola has cut ties with a conservative Washington group accused of supporting voter suppression -- one with strong connections in Georgia's Legislature -- following an online petition and phone protests from activists . The Atlanta-based beverage giant said Thursday it discontinued its membership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which describes itself as a non-partisan organization advancing “the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism and individual liberty." "Our involvement with ALEC was focused on efforts to oppose discriminatory food and beverage taxes, not on issues that have no direct bearing on our business," Coke spokeswoman Diana Garza Ciarlante said.