Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said, “We are not backing down” against the multiple corporations boycotting the state’s recently signed voting overhaul law.
His response came just hours after Major League Baseball announced it was moving its All-Star Game and 2021 draft from Atlanta in protest of Georgia’s new voting law.
“I mean, really unfortunate today, obviously, the Major League Baseball has folded up and cave to the canceled culture, and a bunch of liberal lies, quite honestly, and what’s even more sad is the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and people like Stacey Abrams labeling the Election Integrity Act [as] Jim Crow,” Kemp told Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Friday.
Kemp signed the bill into law on March 25 and has argued the measure is designed to make it “easy to vote and hard to cheat.”
MLB TO MOVE ALL-STAR GAME AND DRAFT OUT OF GEORGIA IN VOTING LAW PROTEST
However, since the bill’s signing, numerous voting rights advocates and notable corporations such as Apple, Delta, Coca-Cola, and several more have released statements in disapproval of the law.
When asked whether the boycott would affect the recently signed law, Kemp said, “No, I think just a reverse. I can tell you, we are not backing down.”
The Peach State governor added, “The members of the Legislature that voted on this bill that were duly elected in November are not backing down. People are rising up because they’re worried, you know, they’re worried what sports are going to be next, you know, what events are going to be next, what business is going to be next.”
The state’s voting law requires a photo ID in order to vote absentee by mail. Voting rights advocates argue that any ID requirements associated with voting disproportionately affect people of color and low-income communities. Georgia, however, offers a free state ID that can be used to request ballots.
In addition, the law reduces the time frame in which runoff elections are held, including the amount of accessible early voting centers for runoffs. It also makes it a crime for outside groups to hand out food or water to people in line to vote. Unmanned stations with food and water may be provided as long as people are not handing items to voters.
Other alterations to the voting procedures reduce the number of ballot drop boxes in the streets, an emergency provision that was common last year due to the pandemic. The law itself authorizes the use of drop boxes for the first time, though they will be located inside buildings.
Another provision makes the Saturday before an election an early voting block from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the option for polling locations to be open on Sunday.
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Democratic litigation attorneys from Perkins Coie filed a lawsuit against the legislation on behalf of three Democratic activist organizations, claiming the law’s measures amount to voter suppression and violate the 14th Amendment and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Kemp’s office released a statement on Friday night announcing the governor would hold a press conference on Saturday in response to the MLB decision to move the All-Star Game out of Georgia.
