Organizations are calling for major sporting events to be removed from Georgia after the state passed a controversial voting law on Thursday.
Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association, said the players are ready to discuss the change to the annual All-Star Game in July, normally played in Atlanta, although they have not talked to the league about it, according to Boston Globe.
An opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times also asked the MLB to move the All-Star game.
The National Black Justice Coalition, an LGBTQ and black civil rights group, said in a statement that golfers should refuse to play at the Masters, an annual tournament on the Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia, unless the law is repealed.
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“The PGA Tour and the Masters Tournament have pledged to help diversify golf and tackle racial inequalities in this country – and we hope that they will not only speak out against Georgia’s new racist suppression law – but also take action” says the statement.
The law was signed on Thursday by Republican Governor Brian Kemp after passing quickly through the state legislature.
Activists also called for a boycott of Atlanta-based companies like Coca-Cola, which did not expressly oppose the new law.
The director of “Ford v Ferrari” and “Logan”, James Mangold, tweeted on Thursday: “I will not direct a film in Georgia”.
“Georgia has been using money to steal film jobs from other states that allow people to vote. I don’t want to play there,” Mangold told The Wrap. “I’m not telling anyone what to do. I just can’t work there until it changes.”
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said he would not buy Coca-Cola products until the problem was resolved.
But Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., said these boycotts would hurt low-income people. “It would hurt middle class workers and people struggling with poverty,” tweeted King. “It would increase the damage from racism and classism.”
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The law standardizes voting hours from 9 am to 5 pm or from 7 am to 7 pm. It requires two early voting Saturdays instead of one and makes two Sundays optional for early voting. He continues to allow the absent vote without giving a reason, but requires an identification issued by the state to request a vote.
The law also prohibits the distribution of water and food to voters waiting at the polls and reduces the second round from nine to four weeks.
According to the law, polling stations are also limited. They will be placed in early polling places, but only available while the venues are open. The law also includes some power in elections for state legislators and the Georgia State Electoral Council.
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The law would also remove electoral authority from the Georgia secretary of state, allowing the Republican-controlled legislature to nominate a president of the state electoral council.
The bill came after a two-seat Democratic sweep in the Senate and a presidential vote in Georgia, and repeated baseless allegations of mass electoral fraud by former President Trump.