Moving MLB All-Star Game from Atlanta is 'serious mistake,' former Commissioner Fay Vincent says

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Former MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent came out firing shots at Rob Manfred after he made the decision to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta after Georgia made changes to its voting laws.

Vincent, who wrote an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, said Manfred made a decision "without first protesting the substance of the law." He added that Manfred made a "serious mistake", and the All-Star Game only benefits the city where the game is played, which means people working the game and local businesses around Atlanta’s ballpark will now suffer during the mid-summer exhibition.

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"The players will get paid no matter where the game takes place," Vincent wrote. "MLB will get the same television revenue. The only people hurt by Mr. Manfred’s decision will be Atlanta’s stadium workers and local vendors… Mr. Manfred failed to spell out specific criticisms of Georgia’s voting law. Now he’s put himself in the awkward position of having to defend Colorado’s voting laws."

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Major League Baseball will relocate the game to Coors Field in Colorado. In response, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp addressed the situation, comparing the two states' procedures, saying he is baffled by the decision.

"Georgia has 17 days of in-person early voting including two optional Sundays, Colorado has 15," the Republican governor said. "So what I'm being told, they also have a photo ID requirement. So it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me."

PSAKI ON MOVING MLB ALL-STAR GAME TO COLORADO: GEORGIA LEGISLATION WAS 'BUILT ON A LIE'

Colorado requires voters to show identification when voting in person, and the state says that first-time mail-in voters may be required to include a copy of their identification with their ballot.

Georgia requires identification for in-person and all absentee voting. According to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office, voters without ID can use the last four digits of their social security number, a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or another government document with their name and address on it. 

Colorado relies on signature matching for absentee ballots other than those from first-time mail-in voters, which is what Georgia did in the 2020 election. 

Former MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent came out firing shots at Rob Manfred after he made the decision to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta after Georgia made changes to its voting laws. (AP/Reuters)

Colorado also automatically sends absentee ballots to all registered voters, whereas Georgia only sends them to those who request them, a measure meant to prevent sending ballots to the wrong address or to those no longer eligible to vote.

The Georgia law extends the number of early voting weekend days and standardizes hours from at least 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It also limits the number of ballot drop boxes to one per 100,000 voters or one per early voting site, whichever number is smaller. 

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Drop boxes in Georgia must be placed in a county election office or early-voting precinct location, so they’re only available during business hours to be monitored. 

Last week, before the MLB said it would exit in response to the state's voting law, Biden said he would "strongly support" baseball players pushing to move the game.

"I think today's professional athletes are acting incredibly responsibly. I would strongly support them doing that," Biden told ESPN last week. "People look to them. They're leaders. The very people who are victimized the most are the leaders in these various sports."

Fox News' Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.