Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams spent weeks spreading misinformation about the state’s new voting reform law, calling it “a redux of Jim Crow in a suit and tie.” Now that her false claims about the bill have resulted in Major League Baseball announcing that it would move its all-star game and draft out of Atlanta, Abrams has released a statement denouncing the decision.
Here’s Abrams full statement on the MLB:
Republicans who passed and defended Senate Bill 2020 did so knowing the economic risks to our state. They prioritized making it harder for people of color to vote over the economic well-being of Georgians.
Like many Georgians, I am disappointed that the MLB is relocating the All-Star game; however, I commend the players, owners and League commissioner for speaking out. I urge others in positions of leadership to do so as well. As I have stated, I respect boycotts, although I don’t want to see Georgia families hurt by lost events and jobs. Georgians targeted by voter suppression will be hurt as opportunities go to other states. We should not abandon the victims of GOP malice and lies – we must stand together.
Georgia Republicans must renounce the terrible damage they have caused to our voting system and the harm they have inflicted on our economy. Our corporate community must get off the sidelines as full partners in this fight, acknowledging that the provisions of SB 2020 do not expand voting rights. They restrict those rights, affecting employees and consumers alike. And leaders must publicly support the voting rights provisions in the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to mitigate the harm being done in Georgia and other states.
As other events, productions and businesses weigh whether to patronize Georgia, I urge those who can to come and speak out, and I urge those who are here to stay and fight, to stay and vote. We need you.
The Washington Post fact-checked various complaints about the Georgia bill, ultimately finding that the experts it spoke to said “the net effect was to expand the opportunities to vote for most Georgians, not limit them.”
Specifically, the Post found that while Biden and others claimed the new law “ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over.” As the Post noted, the new law does no such thing.
Critics of the bill also falsely claimed the new Georgia bill would prohibit food or drink from being passed out to people waiting in line to vote. As The Daily Wire previously reported, the bill does not prevent people waiting in line to vote from receiving food or water, but politicians and their staff cannot provide it in an effort to secure votes. Poll workers can pass out water or food as they see fit.
The Daily Wire’s Amanda Prestigiacomo also reminded critics of the Georgia law, who claim requiring voters to present ID in order to vote is racist, that African-Americans don’t see it that way.