Republicans in Georgia claim victory after MLB named Atlanta as the site of the 2025 All-Star Game, which it moved out of the state in 2021 after the passage of an election law that left-wing critics called racist and similar to Jim Crow Laws .
The law, still in effect in Georgia, aimed to ensure election integrity by imposing certain restrictions on absentee and absentee voting, expanding voter ID requirements, and prohibiting non-poll workers from assisting voters who queued to offer food and drinks at polling stations.
MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred said at the time that the decision to move the game was “the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport,” citing concerns that Republican-backed legislation could restrict voting access. However, voter turnout increased across Georgia in the 2022 midterm elections.
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Left to right: Former Georgia Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, and Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp.
“Georgia’s election laws haven’t changed, but it’s good to see the MLB got them wrong. We look forward to welcoming the All-Star Game to Georgia. Go Braves!” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp wrote in a post on X after news of the move back to Atlanta broke.
Georgia Gov. Burt Jones took aim at Stacey Abrams, the state’s two-time Democratic gubernatorial candidate, one of the voting law’s biggest critics, blaming her for the millions in economic benefits he said were lost by postponing the game .
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“Stacey Abrams cost Georgians over $100 million by lying about Georgia’s common-sense election reform law. Four years late, I’m glad the MLB is seeing through their lies and bringing the All Star Game back to Georgia. I will. “I’m holding my breath waiting for an apology,” he wrote.
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“[The MLB] recognized that “voter suppression” is as much a myth as Stacey Abrams’ gubernatorial victory. Vindication — for Georgia voters, small businesses and sports fans!” said former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, referring to Abrams’ refusal to recognize the 2018 gubernatorial election, the first of two elections she lost to Kemp.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger called the decision the “longest instantaneous reconsideration ever” and celebrated the overturning of a “bad decision.”
“Georgia’s elections are secure and accessible to our voters,” he added.
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Georgia Democratic Senate candidate U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) (R) and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) wave to students before speaking at a Dawgs for Warnock rally on December 4, 2022 at the University of Georgia speaking Athens, Georgia.
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock joined Republicans in celebrating the move, saying it was “great news” for the state’s economy and a “smart decision.” He was one of the few Democrats to sharply criticize MLB for its decision to postpone the game in the first place, while also urging it to stay and fight “voter suppression head-on.”
Georgia’s other Democratic senator, Jon Ossoff, told Fox News Digital: “This is great news for the state of Georgia. We are prepared and look forward to hosting the All-Star Game.”
However, he did not respond to questions about why MLB moved the game back to Atlanta even though Georgia’s unchanged voting law remained in effect, after railing against Republicans over the law in 2021 when MLB decided to drop play.
“Georgia’s Republican Party leadership is spiraling out of control and Georgia is losing business and jobs because of its disastrous new Jim Crow voting laws. The governor and legislature are intentionally making it harder for black voters to vote. You know it. Everyone knows it.” “It and this outrageous and immoral attack on the right to vote have also put our state’s economy in grave danger,” he said at the time.
Original article source: Georgia Republicans attack voting rights critics after MLB All-Star Game returns to Atlanta
