White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday pushed back on a Fox News reporter for saying voting laws in Colorado and Georgia were “very similar” in the wake of MLB relocating its All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver.
The exchange came when reporter Peter Doocy asked about MLB’s recent decision to move the All-Star Game following enactment of a Georgia law that critics say will make it harder for residents, especially people of color, to vote.
“Is the White House concerned that Major League baseball is moving their All-Star Game to Colorado, where voting regulations are very similar to Georgia?” Doocy asked Psaki.
“Well, let me just refute the first point you made,” Psaki responded. “First, let me say, on Colorado, Colorado allows you to register on Election Day. Colorado has voting by mail where they send, to 100 percent of people in the state who are eligible, applications to vote by mail.”
“Ninety-four percent of people in Colorado voted by mail in the 2020 election, and they also allow for a range of materials to provide, even if they vote on Election Day, for the limited number of people who vote on Election Day,” she added.
Georgia does not allow voter registration on Election Day, nor does it regularly send applications for absentee ballots to all eligible residents.
Among the changes to elections in Georgia that are included in the new law are provisions that create a voter ID requirement for absentee voting and limit the use of ballot drop boxes.
The law also includes language that expands weekend early voting in the state, though another change in the bill moves back the deadline to request absentee ballots. Another portion of the law prohibits volunteers from handing out food or drinks to people as they wait in line to vote.
The law is one of a number of pieces of legislation that have advanced in the state’s GOP-led legislature since the start of the year that would impact how people vote in Georgia.
Republican lawmakers supporting the legislation say the measures are needed to boost election security and public trust in Georgia’s elections as former President Trump continues to spread unproven claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Democrats and voting rights advocates have argued the legislation is unnecessary and could end some of the record turnout Georgia saw in the presidential race and the high turnout during the January U.S. Senate runoffs — three races won by Democrats.
“There was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Georgia’s top Republican election officials have acknowledged that repeatedly in interviews,” Psaki said on Tuesday.
“What there was, however, was record-setting turnout, especially by voters of color. So instead, what we’re seeing here, for politicians who didn’t like the outcome, they’re not changing their policies to win more votes; they’re changing the rules to exclude more voters. And we certainly see the circumstances as different,” she continued.
“And ultimately, let me add one more thing: It’s up to Major League Baseball to determine where they’re holding their All-Star Game,” she added.