MLB doesn’t touch politics in its All-Star Game announcement, but Colorado officials do
Last week, Major League Baseball made it clear that voting rights were at the core of the decision to move the All-Star Game out of Georgia. But Tuesday’s official MLB release about the July 13 game moving to Denver did not discuss voting or get political in the least bit, with Commissioner Rob Manfred saying he appreciated the Colorado Rockies’, Denver’s and the state’s “flexibility and enthusiasm to deliver a first-class event for our game and the region.”
Gov. Jared Polis also ducked questions about Colorado’s election laws on Tuesday morning, but Denver Mayor Michael Hancock didn’t shy away from politics in an interview with The Denver Post. He said moving the game and all related festivities in Denver and at and Coors Field is a direct result of Colorado’s inclusive and accessible voting system that’s often referred to as the gold standard in the U.S.
“This is a cautionary tale for any state, any city who wants to restrict access to one’s rights to vote,” Hancock said. “For every action, there’s going to be a reaction.”
He added: “Even in a partisan environment we still make sure that nothing trumps full access to the ballot box. Voting is the heartbeat of democracy … You lean in and make it more inclusive. You don’t restrict.”
MLB moved the All-Star Game out of the Atlanta area last week in response to a new Georgia voting law that voting rights advocates say will restrict access, particularly for people of color. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Friday that “Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” and that the decision was made after discussions with individual big-league players as well as the Players Alliance, an organization of Black players formed after the death of George Floyd last year in Minnesota.
Many conservative figures — from Fox News personalities to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — have been quick to criticize MLB, with some saying it’s being moved from one state where ID is required to vote to another state where ID is required to vote.
NEWS: #McConnell in Kentucky calls actions of #MLB, #Coke, and #Delta in opposition of Georgia voting law ‘stupid.’ ‘My warning to corporate America is to stay out of politics,’ he says. ‘I’m not talking about political contributions, he adds. pic.twitter.com/J0yEMjqyYc
— Nancy Ognanovich (@NOgnanovich) April 6, 2021
“Georgia has 17 days of in-person early voting, including two optional Sundays. Colorado has 15,” Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said. “So what I’m being told, they also have a photo ID requirement. So it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.”
But the comparison — even being made on Fox News’ website Tuesday with the headline “Colorado voting laws are similar to Georgia’s despite decision to move Major League Baseball All-Star Game” — isn’t accurate.
The vast majority of Colorado voters cast ballots by mail and are not asked to produce ID to vote, and those who do vote in person don’t necessarily need ID, because state law requires that an eligible voter “who is unable to produce identification may cast a provisional ballot.” Georgia’s new law, by contrast, requires photo ID. And if you cast a provisional ballot in Georgia, you must produce photo ID within three days.
Overall, conservatives have argued other Colorado election laws are not only comparable to Georgia’s, but more restrictive in certain regards.
“The @MLB is moving the #MLBAllStarGame out of ATL which has more day-of voting rights than CO?” South Carolina GOP U.S. Sen. Tim Scott tweeted. “The Wokes are at it again, folks.”
But Colorado’s voting system is more accessible than Georgia’s. Registered voters here receive ballots in the mail weeks ahead of Election Day, and ballots can be returned by mail, drop boxes or voting centers. Colorado allows same-day voter registration; Georgia does not.
The Players Alliance did not immediately respond to request for comment, and Major League Baseball said it would not comment beyond the initial news release about Denver getting the game.
Colorado Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon grew up in the Atlanta area, went to college at Georgia Tech and spends a lot of time there. During a news conference Tuesday, he called the decision “a crushing blow” economically for Atlanta and “very controversial.” He also said MLB is changing and inclusive, and the game is for everyone, but that comes with “lots of different opinions, and I think that needs to be okay.”
“It needs to be okay for me to have a different opinion from my teammate over here or my teammate over there, and I think we should embrace that. I think that’s what that’s what makes America great,” he added.
Blackmon said he hadn’t read the Georgia voting laws but that it’s “important to have the right to vote.” However, he called it “an awful lot of power for one man to neglect that, and unilaterally implement something when his opinion differs.
“I’m just a ballplayer. Is that right or wrong? It’s controversial, certainly, and I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know that I love and respect my teammates and I’m going to accept their opinions on the matter.”
Colorado U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat from Denver, tweeted: “There’s no better place in America to play baseball than Coors Field. There’s no easier place to cast a ballot than Colorado.” Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Attorney General Phil Weiser said much the same on Twitter.
Can’t wait to welcome this year’s @MLB All Stars to the Mile High City.
There’s no better place in America to play baseball than Coors Field.
There’s no easier place to cast a ballot than Colorado.
— Rep. Diana DeGette (@RepDianaDeGette) April 6, 2021
Not to mention, the All-Star Game is a democratic process itself, with fans asked to cast ballots for their favorite position players in the National and American leagues.
Denver was already working on hosting the All-Star Game a second time (the first was in 1998), and had put in a bid for possibly 2024, Hancock said. But the league called him last week, though he didn’t specify what day.
“We already had a lot of the blueprint for how to get it done,” Hancock said. “We were ready to go.”
Indeed, the MLB announcement said that the Rockies “had supplied a detailed plan for hotel, event space and security that took months to assemble, and MLB staff had already made several site visits to Denver.”
Hancock said he’s proud and honored for Denver to host the game, and said the goal is for Coors Field to be back at full capacity when the game comes around in July; currently only 42% capacity is allowed due to COVID restrictions.
Polis echoed Hancock’s excitement with a cascade of baseball references, and said the main concern for the pandemic extends through the next few weeks and he encouraged Coloradans to stay their current course.
“We’re not going to leave that game early. We’re going to fight this thing out,” Polis said, noting that by July everyone who wants a vaccine should have one.
Hancock and Polis added that the expected economic boon — worth up to $190 million — and national exposure is a strong incentive for everyone in the city to continue wearing masks, avoid large groups and seek out vaccinations.
Denver Post sportswriter Kyle Newman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3fOIiOE
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