ATLANTA – Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger releases a statement on the MLB’s return of the All-Star Game to Atlanta.
Release:
Major League Baseball’s decision to return the All-Star Game to Atlanta is the final vindication for Raffensperger led legislation SB202, highlighting the best of Georgia – including commonsense election laws that work for Georgia voters. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger issued the following statement:
“MLB fell for a total con in 2021 and it cost hard-working Georgians BIG,” said Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “We are proud of the legislation my team drafted and passed, and thrilled that so many finally recognize what Georgia voters have known this whole time: it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat.”
In 2021, critics – including election denier Stacey Abrams and President Joe Biden – falsely labeled Georgia’s Senate Bill 202 as “Jim Crow 2.0,” or “Jim Eagle”, ignoring the facts. Contrary to those inflammatory claims, Georgia’s election law expanded access to early voting, enhanced voter ID security for absentee ballots, and secured drop boxes inside monitored voting locations. These were widely supported reforms:
What SB 202 Actually Did:
1 Expanded early voting to 17 days for general elections — including mandatory Saturday voting.
2 Required photo ID for all forms of voting.
3 Added additional security measures to secure drop boxes.
A post-election survey from the University of Georgia confirmed what most Georgia voters already knew: Georgia elections are secure, accessible, and fair. In the 2022 general election, 95% of voters reported no issues, Black voters reported shorter wait times than White voters, and confidence in Georgia’s election system was high across all demographics. A recent poll for 2024 showed similar results.
“We all have our teams and we all root for them — but just as heckling the umpire doesn’t change the strike zone, neither did calling Georgia’s election law voter suppression change the results.”
