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Georgia Republicans are taking a victory lap after the MLB named Atlanta as the site of the 2025 All-Star Game, which it moved from the state in 2021 following the passage of a voting law dubbed by left-wing critics as racist and akin to Jim Crow laws.
The law, which is still on the books in Georgia, aimed to ensure election integrity by placing certain restrictions on absentee and mail-in voting, expanding voter ID requirements and prohibiting non-poll workers from providing food and drink to voters waiting in line at polling centers.
MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred said at the time that the decision to move the game was "the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport," citing concerns the Republican-backed legislation could limit voting access. However, turnout across Georgia increased in the 2022 midterm elections.
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From left to right: Former Republican Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, former Democrat Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. (Getty Images)
"Georgia’s voting laws haven’t changed, but it’s good to see the MLB’s misguided understanding of them has. We look forward to welcoming the All-Star Game to Georgia. Go Braves!" Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp wrote in a post on X after news of the move back to Atlanta broke.
Georgia Lt Gov. Burt Jones took aim at the state's two-time Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, one of the biggest critics of the voting law, and blamed her for the millions in economic benefits he said were lost due to the game being moved.
"Stacey Abrams cost Georgians over $100M due to her lies about Georgia’s common-sense election reform law. Four years delayed, I’m happy to see the MLB seeing through her lies and bringing the All Star Game back to Georgia. I’ll hold my breath waiting on an apology," he wrote.
"[The MLB] realized that 'voter suppression' is as much a myth as Stacey Abrams winning the Governor’s race. Vindication - for Georgia voters, small businesses, and sports fans!" former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler said, referencing Abrams' refusal to concede the 2018 gubernatorial election, the first of two elections she lost to Kemp.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger called the decision the "longest instant replay review of all time," and celebrated the overturning of "a bad call."
"Georgia's elections are safe, secure, and accessible to serve our voters," he added.
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Georgia Democratic Senate candidate U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) (R) and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) wave to students before speaking at a Dawgs for Warnock rally at the University of Georgia December 4, 2022 in Athens, Georgia. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock joined in with Republicans in celebrating the move, saying it was "great news" for the state's economy, and a "wise choice." He was one of the few Democrats to scrutinize the MLB for its decision to move the game in the first place, while calling for them to stay and fight "voter suppression head on."
Georgia's other Democrat senator, Jon Ossoff, told Fox News Digital, "This is great news for the State of Georgia. We are prepared and excited to host the All-Star Game."
However, he did not respond to questions concerning why the MLB was moving the game back to Atlanta despite Georgia's unchanged voting law remaining in place after railing against Republicans in 2021 over the law amid the MLB's decision to pull the game.
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"The leadership of Georgia’s Republican Party is out of control and Georgia is hemorrhaging business and jobs because of their disastrous new Jim Crow voting law. The Governor and the legislature are deliberately making it harder for Black voters to vote. They know it. Everybody knows it and this egregious and immoral assault on voting rights has also put our state’s economy at grave risk," he said at the time.
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