Backlash over Georgia voting laws
Part of the restriction is to not allow food or drinks within 150 feet of polling places.
April 15, 2021
New Georgia voting laws have sparked national outrage. Many activists, such as Stacy Abrams, have compared these policies with the discriminatory Jim Crow laws, which targeted Black voters.
In the recent election, President Joe Biden won with 11,779 votes from Georgia. Many Republicans have since believed that the election was rigged and stolen by Democrats, but there is no substantial evidence to back their claims.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill on March 31 that will change Georgia’s election laws. It goes into effect on July 1 and will require that ballots be printed in black and white ink security paper, nonpartisan elections have special ballots, and more.
Georgia lawmakers have received considerable backlash from large businesses and companies. Major corporations like the MLB have condemned the state’s new laws. In fact, the MLB announced that it will be moving its All-Star Game out of Georgia.
Additionally, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey called the new voting measures “unacceptable” and “a step backward,” while Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the bill “includes provisions that will make it harder for many underrepresented voters, particularly Black voters, to exercise their constitutional right to elect their representatives.”
Not only are the MLB and Coca-Cola fighting back, but the NBA and Lebron James are demanding change as well. The Los Angeles Lakers founded “More Than a Vote,” which is an organization made to fight voter suppression. The mission of the movement is to interview players and spread the word about voting rights.
On February 24, Lebron James tweeted that “We all need to continue to use our platform,” and “This last election won’t change anything if we don’t keep working.”
The MLB, NBA, and Lebron James have continued to spread the word about voting rights and how much it could affect the next election.
On November 3, 2020, Georgia’s first day of early voting, the state had thousands of voters waiting in line. However, because of new voting laws, the next elections might look a little different.
