Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons, criticized a new law restricting voting in Georgia, saying Tuesday that the state “should make voting easier, not harder, for every eligible citizen.”
The law, SB 202, will, among other things, shorten the deadlines for requesting absentee votes, make it a crime to give food and water to people who are voting, and cut the time between general and runoff elections to 28 days.
Blank promised that his group, Arthur M. Blank Sports and Entertainment (AMBSE), would continue to support efforts to improve voter access in the state.
“Every voice and every voice is important and should be heard through our democratic process in Georgia,” said Blank in a statement released by the team. “The right to vote is simply sacred. We should work to make voting easier, not harder, for every eligible citizen.
“To this end, AMBSE leadership, along with our nonprofit partners, has been sharing this ideal directly with state officials over the past few weeks. Our corporate and family foundation will continue to actively support efforts to promote access to voting for the citizens of Georgia and the country as a whole . “”
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund announced Tuesday that they will be suing the state of Georgia in federal court. In a press release, the ACLU said that SB 202 “makes it much harder for all Georgians to vote, especially for color voters, new citizens and religious groups.”
Georgia was considered a key state in the 2020 presidential election and had two runoffs for the Senate, both won by Democrats. In the last election, the Falcons players spoke out in favor of encouraging voter registration and participation.
