No All Star Game in Atlanta This Season?

[nsacpi]

You have asked specifically what people have an issue with. I have 3:

1. For the 2020 election, there were 94 drop boxes across the four counties that make up the core of metropolitan Atlanta: Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett. The new law limits the same four counties to a total of, at most, 23 drop boxes, based on the latest voter registration data. The number could be lower depending on how many early-voting sites the counties provide.
There won’t just be fewer drop boxes. Instead of 24-hour access outdoors, the boxes must be placed indoors at government buildings and early-voting sites and will thus be unavailable for voters to drop off their ballots during evenings and other nonbusiness hours.
The measure is likely to have the effect of pushing absentee voters to return ballots through the mail, which in 2020 did not prove as reliable as in the past because of cuts to the Postal Service. (A post office destroyed by Trump appointee DeJoy)

2. Last year, Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta, had two recreational vehicles that traversed the county during the early voting periods, effectively bringing polling sites to people at churches, parks and public libraries. In the November election, more than 11,200 people voted at the two vehicles in Fulton County.
Georgia has now outlawed this practice, unless the governor declares a state of emergency to allow it — something that Mr. Kemp, a Republican, is unlikely to do given that it could increase voter turnout in Atlanta.

3. These new strict rules on early voting hours are likely to curtail voting access for Georgians who work daytime hours or have less flexible schedules and who may be unable to return an absentee ballot. Unless there is a holiday for voting, yes this will affect those people who cannot afford to take a day off to vote. I'm sure some rich people wouldn't think that to be an issue but some employers aren't going to pay you to vote.

I'm not putting race into this at all. But if you don't think any of these are not suppressive tactics good for you. I'm sure demon sex and alien babies are still a thing too.

It will be ironic if the ASG goes to Texas, a state with much more egregious restrictions on things like drop boxes than Georgia. It seems to me a state with practices like Texas is where those of us concerned about voter suppression should be targeting our ire.

[Coredor]

If I hated the state I live in, I would move. Maybe you should consider it.

I don’t hate the state. I just hate a large part of the population I try to avoid having too much to do with. Atlanta is great.

[striker42]

It wouldn't shock me if MLB walked this decision back. They announce a decision to make a big show and then relent a little while later saying it's not fair to punish the Braves and the local community for the actions of the Georgia government. It allows them to make the show of a tough stand but also seem merciful. It also would prevent them from being liable for millions for breach of contracts/detrimental reliance.

[msstate7]

Thank you for actually responding in a meaningful and productive way.

A few questions for you.

1. Weren't those measures put in place specifically for covid measures and were never meant to be permenant? and those emergency measures never actually legislated? and aren't the 23 drop boxes significantly more than the numbers that were there prior to covid? I think there should be legit concern about universal mail in balloting due to losing the chain of access, so I think this is a sensible measure to take while still providing greater access than they had before and greater access than other similar cities

2. I have never heard of this practice. Is this something happening throughout the United States?

3. But the voting hours were actually expanded from what they were before, weren't they?

The voting hours statement by Biden is what got the 4 Pinocchios by WP

[sturg33]

Incredibly hurtful. Makes me wonder if I want to watch another game this year.

The good people of Georgia who only wanted to watch baseball aren't the only people affected. This Oregonian feels the sting, and I feel as though I'm the one getting punished.

a whole lot of people just lost good paying jobs this summer

[jsebe10]

This makes me so mad. I’ve about had it with rural hicks in this state. I mean heck the house tried to retaliate against Delta but it stalled out. The things in this bill are subtle but they could make a big difference in a gridlocked state. As a Georgian though this bothers me. I hate losing something because of the actions of groups of people I can’t stand and am tired of living around.

Oh blow it out of your ass...pack up your clothes...your cats..your probably huge significant other..and hop in your Subaru and leave...it’s truly that simple. You can kill babies in other states too ya know.

[msstate7]

It wouldn't shock me if MLB walked this decision back. They announce a decision to make a big show and then relent a little while later saying it's not fair to punish the Braves and the local community for the actions of the Georgia government. It allows them to make the show of a tough stand but also seem merciful. It also would prevent them from being liable for millions for breach of contracts/detrimental reliance.

Probably just give Atlanta another one within 4 years. They win the press today, and no one gives a sheet a year from now

[striker42]

a whole lot of people just lost good paying jobs this summer

Yeah. It's not just one game. It's a week of festivities. Lots of people needed to put that on. Everyone from people to work parking lots to cops to work security to people selling t-shirts on the side of the road. A lot of these people who will be taking the hit are the same people baseball is saying are the targets of this law.

[mossy]

a whole lot of people just lost good paying jobs this summer

And that makes me feel terrible. Regardless of whatever the political applications are here, it's just ugly all the way around. I had no money to make here, but a sense of pride has been stripped from Braves Country. Feels like a kick in the gut.

[jpx7]

Which parts of the bill, specifically?

The law also adds an ID requirement to the process for requesting an absentee ballot, after previously only requiring voters to sign an application. It also narrows the time window during which ballots can be requested.

It also restricts the use of drop boxes in the state, mandating that each county have at least one drop box but then limiting any additional drop box totaling the “lesser of either one drop box for every 100,000 active registered voters in the county or the number of advance voting locations in the county.” The law also requires that the drop boxes be located either at the office of the board of registrars or ballot clerk or inside early voting locations — and that they are closed when early voting isn’t being conducted.

Outside of the "ID requirement [...] for requesting an absentee ballot," which at least has the manifoldly-dubious justification of "integrity," there's really no way to spin those measures as anything other than increasing restrictions without any tangible benefits to the people of Georgia.

But, more importantly and more broadly—as has been noted ad nauseam in many outlets—all Voter ID Laws are ballot-access-restrictive when not accompanied by a dramatic increase in the ease of obtaining the necessary identification on which they are incumbent. Making that process entirely gratis (or, for you gov-budge sticklers, governmentally subsidized) is merely but one condition for sufficiently-easy access. Without satisfaction of those conditions, Voted ID Laws substantially infringe ballot-access to those with limited income and/or mobility and/or time (the latter two of which usually coincide with the former)—and, because of this nation's litany of past sins, much of the lower-income community overlaps with black & brown minority communities (who have moreover suffered a litany of historical disenfranchisements that have given them less determinative stake in those very same disenfranchising laws being passed today).

That is why the whole suite of Georgia's new laws, and US Voter ID laws in general, are described as "racist"—it's a theoretical versus actual access issue that converges with racial realities of our country. But I suspect most of you begging What could possibly be racist about all this?!? already know that, just as I suspect Georgia Republicans already know that—and just as I suspect, moreover, that these very same issues, indeed, form a substantial part of their ultimate motivation in passing these laws.

[Deester11]

The voting hours statement by Biden is what got the 4 Pinocchios by WP

So what? How many did the previous guy get? It's neither here nor there. Voting hours are absolutely critical to an average worker as unless they have an employer that will be flexible, it can prove difficult to make the hours presented. The hours can be extended in case of emergency, but earliest is 7 and latest is 7PM. I don't care if you don't like a party or not, but common sense should apply no?

[jpx7]

You have asked specifically what people have an issue with. I have 3:

1. For the 2020 election, there were 94 drop boxes across the four counties that make up the core of metropolitan Atlanta: Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett. The new law limits the same four counties to a total of, at most, 23 drop boxes, based on the latest voter registration data. The number could be lower depending on how many early-voting sites the counties provide.
There won’t just be fewer drop boxes. Instead of 24-hour access outdoors, the boxes must be placed indoors at government buildings and early-voting sites and will thus be unavailable for voters to drop off their ballots during evenings and other nonbusiness hours.
The measure is likely to have the effect of pushing absentee voters to return ballots through the mail, which in 2020 did not prove as reliable as in the past because of cuts to the Postal Service. (A post office destroyed by Trump appointee DeJoy)

2. Last year, Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta, had two recreational vehicles that traversed the county during the early voting periods, effectively bringing polling sites to people at churches, parks and public libraries. In the November election, more than 11,200 people voted at the two vehicles in Fulton County.
Georgia has now outlawed this practice, unless the governor declares a state of emergency to allow it — something that Mr. Kemp, a Republican, is unlikely to do given that it could increase voter turnout in Atlanta.

3. These new strict rules on early voting hours are likely to curtail voting access for Georgians who work daytime hours or have less flexible schedules and who may be unable to return an absentee ballot. Unless there is a holiday for voting, yes this will affect those people who cannot afford to take a day off to vote. I'm sure some rich people wouldn't think that to be an issue but some employers aren't going to pay you to vote.

I'm not putting race into this at all. But if you don't think any of these are not suppressive tactics good for you. I'm sure demon sex and alien babies are still a thing too.

Well said.

[CyYoung31]

It wouldn't shock me if MLB walked this decision back. They announce a decision to make a big show and then relent a little while later saying it's not fair to punish the Braves and the local community for the actions of the Georgia government. It allows them to make the show of a tough stand but also seem merciful. It also would prevent them from being liable for millions for breach of contracts/detrimental reliance.

That would actually make them look worse, so I doubt it. But, then again, it is Manfred and he seems to thrive on outdoing himself.

And @deester11 thank you for detailing some actual issues with this bill. I’ve been searching all week and all I found were people and sites regurgitating the same vague statements and almost nothing about what’s in the bill itself that’s actually relevant to the issue of voter suppression.

I still think it’s a bit overblown though.

[PawPawMaxwell]

Ive mentioned my point on this several days ago and no one even responded or even the usual sarcastic response to anything not reflecting their position. This move by MLB, as painful as it is to Atlanta Braves and their fans has no impact on the voting or voters of Georgia. It is simply a concession by Manfred to Tony Clarks maneuver to get a head start on negotiations. Now Clark has lost that position because it was a meaningless point to baseball anyway.

[jpx7]

It will be ironic if the ASG goes to Texas, a state with much more egregious restrictions on things like drop boxes than Georgia. It seems to me a state with practices like Texas is where those of us concerned about voter suppression should be targeting our ire.

Though striker's been really all over the place in this thread with missives, your point above, and his below, are I think two of the better arguments against this move by MLB—which itself is a discussion about the best form of resistance to Georgia's new laws, and restrictive voter laws in general (while taking it as a given that restricting ballot-access is bad).

Look at Cobb County government. There are 5 members of the County Commission, all are women and three are black women (including the commission chair). Baseball denied these leaders far more important tax revenue than they did the State of Georgia. What an idiot Manfred is.

[sturg33]

Outside of the "ID requirement [...] for requesting an absentee ballot," which at least has the manifoldly-dubious justification of "integrity," there's really no way to spin those measures as anything other than increasing restrictions without any tangible benefits to the people of Georgia.

But, more importantly and more broadly—as has been noted ad nauseam in many outlets—all Voter ID Laws are ballot-access-restrictive when not accompanied by a dramatic increase in the ease of obtaining the necessary identification on which they are incumbent. Making that process entirely gratis (or, for you gov-budge sticklers, governmentally subsidized) is merely but one condition for sufficiently-easy access. Without satisfaction of those conditions, Voted ID Laws substantially infringe ballot-access to those with limited income and/or mobility and/or time (the latter two of which usually coincide with the former)—and, because of this nation's litany of past sins, much of the lower-income community overlaps with black & brown minority communities (who have moreover suffered a litany of historical disenfranchisements that have given them less determinative stake in those very same disenfranchising laws being passed today).

That is why the whole suite of Georgia's new laws, and US Voter ID laws in general, are described as "racist"—it's a theoretical versus actual access issue that converges with racial realities of our country. But I suspect most of you begging What could possibly be racist about all this?!? already know that, just as I suspect Georgia Republicans already know that—and just as I suspect, moreover, that these very same issues, indeed, form a substantial part of their ultimate motivation in passing these laws.

Voter ID is wildly popular, including with African Americans. So that's not a winning issue - especially when you consider a mail in ballot

The state has increased the number of drop boxes from where they were before the covid emergency election. That is progress. They are also ahead of most other cities in accessible drop boxes.

Why would they need to be open when voting isn't happening?

This all just seems like outrageous whining about something that isn't a big deal, and is not difficult to overcome for anyone who wants to vote. As mentioned, there are great odds the city the all star game moves to will have more restrictive voting access than GA

[striker42]

So what? How many did the previous guy get? It's neither here nor there. Voting hours are absolutely critical to an average worker as unless they have an employer that will be flexible, it can prove difficult to make the hours presented. The hours can be extended in case of emergency, but earliest is 7 and latest is 7PM. I don't care if you don't like a party or not, but common sense should apply no?

Pretty sure there wasn't any early voting before 7 or after 7 before this law. The voting hours is not the controversial part of this law.

[nsacpi]

That would actually make them look worse, so I doubt it. But, then again, it is Manfred and he seems to thrive on outdoing himself.

And @deester11 thank you for detailing some actual issues with this bill. I’ve been searching all week and all I found were people and sites regurgitating the same vague statements and almost nothing about what’s in the bill itself that’s actually relevant to the issue of voter suppression.

I still think it’s a bit overblown though.

Yes overblown. But this whole matter grew out of the BIG LIE and one man's bruised and fragile ego and his followers determination to soothe that ego. I think Kemp did try to remove the more objectionable parts of the bill and succeeded in doing so. He is angry with Delta because he consulted with them on which provisions were problematic and had to be removed. So lots of people are in a tizzy about this.

[sturg33]

So what? How many did the previous guy get? It's neither here nor there. Voting hours are absolutely critical to an average worker as unless they have an employer that will be flexible, it can prove difficult to make the hours presented. The hours can be extended in case of emergency, but earliest is 7 and latest is 7PM. I don't care if you don't like a party or not, but common sense should apply no?

They have two weeks to vote

[jpx7]

Ive mentioned my point on this several days ago and no one even responded or even the usual sarcastic response to anything not reflecting their position. This move by MLB, as painful as it is to Atlanta Braves and their fans has no impact on the voting or voters of Georgia. It is simply a concession by Manfred to Tony Clarks maneuver to get a head start on negotiations. Now Clark has lost that position because it was a meaningless point to baseball anyway.

Nbd that you missed it, but I actually did respond to that post on the first page:

There's probably a hefty dose of Column-B (good PR for the MLBPA) mixed in with Column-A (actually caring about the issue)—especially since flexing like this demonstrates that, while the MLBPA might be "not a real large organization" in terms of membership, they are a pretty large organization in terms of economic impact.

Personally, I'm (practically) always pro-players, so if this whole discussion-point only has the effect of helping the players vs the owners in the next CBA negotiation, I think that's still a net positive, even if it does nothing to otherwise move needles in Georgia.