'Baseball is Back': Conservative Group Touts Georgia Voting Law, Slams MLB In New Ad

A conservative group is launching a new ad in Georgia as the Atlanta Braves prepare to host the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the World Series on Friday.

The ad celebrates baseball returning to the state after Major League Baseball (MLB) moved the 2021 All-Star Game out of the Peach State earlier this year after legislators passed a controversial voting law.

"Now, baseball is back for the World Series and the same woke executives will be here to hand out the trophy," the ad states. "Why is there no baseball boycott now? Even the MLB knows the truth."

The narrator goes on to tout the law as "fair" election reform.

Heritage Action, a conservative policy advocacy organization, is behind the six-figure ad buy. The 30-second clip will air in Georgia and Washington D.C. during Game 3 on Friday, according to Politico.

"This is a homerun for Georgian's and a swinging strikeout for the woke elites," the group said.

The voting law, known as S.B. 202, was passed by the Republican-led legislature and signed by Governor Brian Kemp in late March. The measure was heavily criticized by Democrats, voting rights activists and major corporations such as Delta, Coca-Cola, MLB and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

S.B. 202 restricts the use of ballot drop-boxes, places new voter ID requirements on people voting by mail and gives the state election board more oversight in local county election offices.

One of its most controversial provisions makes it a crime for anyone to hand out water or food to voters waiting in line at polling stations.

Kemp and other leading Republicans have defended the law, arguing that the voting changes have been misrepresented and ensure election integrity. Kemp attributed the MLB's decision to move the All-Star Game out of Georgia to "cancel culture."

"Georgia will not be bullied by socialists and their sympathizers. We will continue to stand for accessible, secure elections that are free and fair. And we will continue to speak truth despite extortion and intimidation," Kemp said at the time.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced in April that the league's All-Star Game was going to be moved from Atlanta's Truist Park to Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The switch is estimated to have cost Georgia's economy $100 million.

Manfred said the decision was the "best way to demonstrate our values as a sport" after consulting with teams as well as former and current players.

"Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box," Manfred's statement read.

Newsweek reached out to the MLB for comment on the ad but did not receive a response before publication.