The All-Star Game returns tonight to Atlanta, four years after Major League Baseball yanked the event from the city in protest of a GOP-backed election law that Democrats at the time decried as “Jim Crow 2.0.”
While Georgia Republicans are taking a victory lap, the state’s top Democrats have been mostly silent about the league’s U-turn. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and state Sen. Jason Esteves — the two most prominent Democratic contenders for Georgia governor — both declined to comment. Esteves even attended last night’s Home Run Derby and wished fans a “Happy All-Star Week” on social media.
But Democratic state Rep. Derrick Jackson, who is also in the race, didn’t mince words. He questioned why the league brought the game back to Georgia even though “nothing has substantially changed” with the law that made Truist Park off-limits four years ago.
“Is the lure of economic opportunity now outweighing the moral stand that was once taken? This isn’t about casting blame or pointing fingers; it’s about seeking consistency and understanding. If an organization takes a stand against injustice, that stand should ideally remain until the injustice is rectified,” he said.
Four years ago, many Democrats struck a told-you-so tone. Back then, Bottoms posted on social media that she was disappointed in the decision but predicted it was “likely the 1st of many dominoes to fall” until the law was rolled back.
That law, Senate Bill 202, restricted the mailing of absentee request forms to voters, capped the number of ballot drop boxes in each county, required an ink signature on absentee applications, required more proof of ID and shortened deadlines to request ballots.
Republicans quickly adopted Gov. Brian Kemp’s mantra that the law cleared hurdles to voting while safeguarding against fraud. Now, the GOP is relishing the league’s return and mocking Democrats.
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, praised the league for “righting a wrong that shouldn’t have happened.”
“And the best part, Georgia’s elections bill that makes it ‘easy to vote and hard to cheat’ is still law,” he said.