WABE’s Week in Review: More Voting Law Fallout, Water Wars Ruling And COVID-19 Vaccines

Georgia’s new, controversial voting law is continuing to be the big story out of the legislative session that ended this week. The move adds a new identification requirement for absentee ballots and gives the state new powers to take over county elections management.

Georgia may have been the first battleground to pass a law like this, but it’s not the only Republican state in the country considering it.

“This is a national movement,” said Andrea Young, who heads the ACLU of Georgia. “It’s as if one political party in our country has become the party of voter suppression.”

“I’m telling you the truth about this bill,” said Governor Brian Kemp in an interview with WABE. “It expands access. It’s adding the voter I.D. requirement on absentee ballots by mail, which is gonna make the process more efficient.”

Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian released a statement calling the voting law “unacceptable” and “based on a lie.”

Later that day, Georgia lawmakers considered punishing the company by attempting to eliminate a fuel tax credit that benefits airlines, including Delta,  through a last-minute amendment in the last hours of the legislative  session.

“They [Delta] like our public policy when we’re doing things that benefit them,” said Republican House Speaker David Ralston. “So, you know, they reap the reward of that benefit, and then turn around and do this.”

Delta was joined by other companies including Coca Cola and Microsoft in outlining concerns with the new voting law.

Of baseball and politics… 

Major League Baseball is relocating this year’s All-Star Game from Truist Park in Cobb County because of the voting law. In a statement, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the move after talking with a number of groups including current and former players.

“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes
restrictions to the ballot box,” said Manfred in the statement. “I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.”

MLB says it will still honor former Braves legend Hank Aaron, who died in January, at the yet-to-be-determined All-Star Game ballpark. The statement also said MLB’s planned investments into the Atlanta-area businesses ahead of the game will go forward.

Political ramifications of the voting law… 

The impact on voting access of the voting law is still being debated, but one can’t debate its political implications. 

The “Water Wars” are not over… 

Georgia got a big win in the U.S. Supreme Court this week. The justices unanimously dismissed Florida’s case against Georgia in a decades-long fight over water between the states. But the battle is still not over. 

Vaccines in the real world… 

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are effective at preventing coronavirus infection in real-world conditions.

That’s good news because it’s not always guaranteed that a drug that performs well in clinical trials does so under less-controlled conditions, said the CDC’s Mark Thompson on WABE’s “Did You Wash Your Hands?”

Taking the vaccines to the people… 

Senior citizens in Georgia were among the first in the state to receive COVID-19 vaccines. But for some who can’t leave their homes, getting vaccinated has been a challenge. Now, DeKalb County is now taking the shots to them.