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MLB could move All-Star game from Georgia after controversial new voter restrictions

by Sarah Polus - 03/26/21 9:53 PM ET

The 91st Major League Baseball All-Star Game, scheduled for July, could be moved from Atlanta after Georgia’s Republican-controlled state House passed a controversial voting overhaul on Thursday.

Tony Clark, the executive director of the MLB Players Association, said the league’s players are “very much aware” of the sweeping legislation.

“As it relates to the All-Star Game, we have not had a conversation with the league on that issue,” Clark told the Boston Globe. “If there is an opportunity to, we would look forward to having that conversation.”

Clark’s comments come after The Los Angeles Times published an op-ed Thursday urging the MLB to change the annual summer exhibition game’s location, the Globe noted.

Voting rights advocates and Democrats alike have slammed the new Georgia voting legislation, which limits the use of ballot drop boxes and sets photo ID requirements for absentee voting, among other restrictions. President Biden dubbed the measures “Jim Crow in the 21st century,” and announced Friday that the Department of Justice is “taking a look” into their legality.

Many critics say the increased restrictions are an intentional attempt to disenfranchise voters of color.

Republicans supporting the bill argue it will provide increased confidence for those who believed election fraud was a major factor in the 2020 presidential election.

Former President Trump hailed the legislation in a Friday statement, writing, “Too bad these changes could not have been done sooner!”

Updated: 9:58 p.m.