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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday afternoon that he would not pitch the first pitch in the Texas Rangers home opener, as planned, due to the Major League’s response. Baseball in Georgia’s recently passed voting laws.
“I looked forward to pitching the first pitch in the Texas Rangers home opener until @MLB passed what turned out to be a bogus narrative about election law reforms in Georgia. It is a shame that the American hobby is influenced by partisan politics. , “the republican governor tweeted.
In an additional statement, Abbott said he will not “be attending any event hosted by the MLB, and the state will not seek to host the All-Star Game or any other special MLB event.”
MLB announced on Friday that this summer’s All-Star Game was moved from Atlanta in response to a new Georgian law that worries civil rights groups about its potential to restrict access to the vote for people of color. .
Commissioner Rob Manfred made the decision to move the All-Star Game and events, as well as the Amateur Draft, from Atlanta after talks with top individual players and the Players Alliance, an organization of black players formed after the death. by George Floyd last year.
Last month Georgia Governor Brian Kemp enacted sweeping, Republican-sponsored law that includes new restrictions on postal voting and greater legislative control over the conduct of elections. The bill, which also prohibits volunteers from handing out food and water to voters in line, was finalized on March 25 about 15 miles from the Braves stadium, Truist Park.
The new election law came in the wake of the first Democratic presidential and senatorial victories in Georgia in a generation, which sparked repeated unproven claims from former President Donald Trump that the state election was fraudulent . Supporters of the new law said it only guaranteed election integrity and rooted out potential fraud, while critics described it as a voter suppression tactic that would make voting more difficult for minorities. , especially people of color, citing how it reduces the number of ballots. access in urban communities that lean Democrat.
In his statement on Monday, Abbott berated the MLB for “perpetuating false political narratives.”
After scoring a brace in a season-opening road series against the Kansas City Royals, the Rangers will return to a full-capacity crowd at Globe Life Field for their home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday. afternoon.
Information from ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez was used in this report.
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