MLB moves All-Star Game out of Atlanta over Georgia election reform
Major League Baseball boycotts Georgia for voter ID law. Reaction from former professional player Dan Venezia.
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Georgians were angry, and rightfully so.
Other states sat idly by and complained about election integrity while doing nothing to strengthen their laws, but Georgia took action. The state legislature passed—and Gov. Brian Kemp signed—Senate Bill 202, which implemented much-needed reforms to ensure Georgia’s elections are fair, accessible, secure, and transparent.
Naturally, Gov. Kemp's former opponent in 2018, ex-Georgia State Rep. Stacey Abrams did what she does best: she spouted off false claims of voter suppression, attempting to paint Republicans in Georgia as racist, bigoted, and evil.
This comes as a surprise to no one. We witnessed this in the aftermath of the 2018 gubernatorial race where, to this day, Abrams has yet to concede to Gov. Kemp. When given the opportunity to finally admit that she lost the election, time and time again, Abrams stuck to her talking points: The Georgia governorship was stolen from her because Republicans used illegal voter suppression tactics to target people of color.
STATES OFFERING TO HOST MLB ALL-STAR GAME HAVE SOME VOTING RESTRICTIONS SIMILAR TO GEORGIA'S
Never mind the fact the data says the opposite. Between 2014 and 2018, voter turnout among minorities in Georgia actually soared. With Latinos and African Americans, voter turnout increased by double digits for both men and women.
Even PolitiFact corrected the record after Sens. Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, and Amy Klobuchar echoed false claims about voter suppression and voting purges costing Abrams the election.
At this point, Georgians are sick and tired of Abrams using false claims of voter suppression as a political weapon. But the real problem this time? Companies like Delta, Coca-Cola, and Major League Baseball (MLB) are falling for her and her allies’ bullying tactics.
Shortly after MLB announced its decision to relocate the 2021 All-Star Game, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., had the nerve to put out a statement expressing disappointment in the MLB’s move.
What did he think would happen after he, Abrams and others on the Left spent weeks spreading lies about the substance of the bill, coining it as a "voter suppression law"?
ATLANTA STANDS TO LOSE MILLIONS IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY OVER MLB DECISION TO RELOCATE ALL-STAR GAME
The only "unfortunate consequence" here, to use the senator’s term, is the consequence of politicians like Abrams’ and Warnock’s dangerous rhetoric, which is, quite literally, driving business out of our state. When more and more Georgians lose their jobs as a result of these bombastic tactics, they will have Abrams and Warnock to thank.
The truth is, this bill actually encourages Georgians to vote in future elections and ensures each and every Georgian can have confidence that their vote counts.
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Moreover, Georgia’s new election law better promotes voter turnout than President Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware, Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home state of California, and Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer’s home state of New York.
Take early voting, for instance. While Georgia’s new election law requires 17 days of early in-person voting, including 2 mandatory Saturday dates and 2 optional Sunday dates, Delaware had no in-person early voting in 2020, California left it up to the counties, and New York only required 9 in-person early voting days—nearly half of what Georgia requires.
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Will the MLB stop playing games in California and New York due to their lack of early voting?
While some—including the president of the United States—falsely claimed Georgia’s new "Jim Crow" election law prohibits electors from receiving food or water in line, the new law merely ensures that electioneering does not take place within 150 feet of a polling location. Delaware, California, and New York have similar laws prohibiting electioneering within 50 feet, 100 feet and 100 feet, respectively—and New York prohibits giving food or water valued at more than a dollar to voters in line.
As for Biden’s false claim about Georgia’s new election law ending voting at 5:00 p.m., I’ll let the Washington Post’s Four Pinocchios speak for itself.
Yes, the MLB, Coca-Cola, and Delta are all private companies. They may choose to do business wherever they please. But customers reserve the right to ask: Will Delta stop flying to China due to their intimidation and imprisonment of dissenting voices, or perhaps their mass genocide of the Uyghur population? Will Coca-Cola refuse to allow their products to be sold at the Beijing Olympics? Will the MLB stop playing games in California, where early in-person voting isn’t required?
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Before spouting out liberal talking points in fear of being the next target on the Left’s list of companies to cancel, these companies should grow a spine and do their homework. And before fueling a false narrative of voter suppression and bullying companies to flee our state, public officials like Warnock should think twice about the consequences of their rhetoric.
The MLB owes Georgia an apology—as do Abrams and Warnock.
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