Topline
More Than a Vote, the voter-rights organization launched last year by LeBron James, announced Tuesday it was partnering with the NBA’s National Basketball Social Justice Coalition, the NBA Players Association and the Georgia chapter of the NAACP to combat recent Republican-backed measures to roll back voting access.
"There's no way I would ever just stick to sports because I understand how this platform and how ... [+]
Key Facts
With the NBA's All-Star Game set to be played Sunday in Atlanta, More Than a Vote says they plan to use the attention the league generates this weekend to highlight pending legislation nationwide that creates barriers to voting, which disproportionately impacts Black Americans and urban communities.
Addisu Demissie, the executive director of More Than A Vote, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the national audience watching the All-Star Game provides "a unique opportunity to work together with our partners to shine a spotlight on these voter suppression efforts."
The organization intends to provide fans "with the tools they need to fight back."
Mark Tatum, the league's deputy commissioner and a board member of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition, told the AJC that the NBA plans to promote "greater access to voting and encourage civic participation."
Critical Quote:
"These attacks on voter rights in Georgia and elsewhere will not go unchallenged," said Michele Roberts, the executive director of the NBA Player's Association, adding that players have "pledged to use their voices to join others in the fight against those who seek to deny equal justice in our communities."
Key Background:
On Monday, House Republicans in Georgia passed House Bill 531, a comprehensive elections bill that mandates a photo ID for absentee voting, limits the time voters have to request an absentee ballot, and curbs early voting hours on weekends, among other measures. Republicans, many of whom supported baseless claims by former President Donald Trump that the 2020 election was stolen, insist the bill is needed to restore confidence in the election process. House Democrats objected to the sweeping legislation and civil rights groups protested outside the Capitol. Democratic Rep. Renitta Shannon said Georgia House Republicans "are doing anything they can to silence the voices of Black and brown voters" that were responsible for Joe Biden, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff's victories. Yet, Georgia isn't the only state endeavoring to adjust voting and representation rules in the U.S. "The attacks on voting rights in Georgia are egregious, but they're just one example of what is a nationwide effort to strip Black voters of our power," said Demissie. According to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice, as of last month, lawmakers had introduced 253 bills with provisions that restrict voting access across 43 states. Last week, the Iowa Legislature passed a bill that would shorten the time residents can vote early or absentee by nine days and close polling locations on Election Day an hour earlier. (According to the Daily Iowan, almost 60% of Iowans voted early in the 2020 general election, yet there is no evidence any election fraud took place).
Chief Critic:
"The typical response by a losing party in a functioning democracy is that they alter their platform to make it more appealing," Kenneth Mayer, an expert on voting and elections at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told the New York Times last week. "Here, the response is to try to keep people from voting. It's dangerously anti-democratic."
Tangent:
Over the weekend, LeBron James, responding to recent criticism from AC Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, pledged to continue fighting against racial injustice in the United States. Speaking with reporters after the Lakers' 102-93 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, James stated, "there's no way I would ever just stick to sports because I understand how this platform and how powerful my voice is."
Further Reading:
LeBron James: I Will Never 'Shut Up' And 'Stick To Sports' (Forbes)
NBA, LeBron James' group team to fight voter suppression during All-Star weekend (AJC)
