MLB has officially pulled the all-star game out of Atlanta over a controversial new voting law was set in place by Republican Governor Brian Kemp.
The law took on tons of criticism from Democrats who called it a drop back to the “Jim Crow” era. The bill, named SB 202, had passed along the party lines and eventually was signed off by Gov. Kemp. Democrats are calling this voter suppression, but Kemp’s statement in a news conference was this: “After the November election last year, I knew like so many of you that significant reforms to our state elections were needed… When voting in person in the state of Georgia, you must have a photo ID. It only makes sense for the same standard to apply to absentee ballots as well.”
The ID requirement is what has Democrats furious. This could affect over 1 million voters in Georgia, as 1.3 million had used that option before.
The reaction to SB 202 has been immense with Democrats lashing out at Republicans and MLB pulling the all-star game out of Atlanta, causing the city potential loss of revenue and possible job losses in the event that extra staff might have been needed to field the event.
While the Democrats continuously clamor over this controversial bill, the MLB took its own criticism when it was noted that they require ticket purchasers to show photo ID in order to pick up will call tickets.
Congresswoman Nancy Mace shared the following screenshot from MLB.com:
It appears that the MLB reacted to a law requiring ID to do absentee votes by mail, but they are also requiring ID for people to pick up tickets at will call.
Numerous critics have labeled the MLB as hypocrites and vowed to boycott the league.