Poll: Most Americans think MLB and other corporations shouldn't go woke, support Georgia voting law

Findings from a new poll suggest Major League Baseball's decision to pull the 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta is not popular with Americans and that when informed about Georgia's new election laws, most people actually support the reforms.

The survey, commissioned by The Daily Wire in partnership with SurveyMonkey, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,026 Americans. It found that 64% of respondents, including self-identified baseball fans, Delta Air Lines customers, and Coca-Cola buyers, said they are "less likely to support" companies and organizations that are outspoken about political controversies.

An overwhelming majority of 70% of respondents agreed with the statement: "Corporations and sports teams should generally stay out of politics."

MLB generated controversy last week when it announced it would move the annual All-Star Game out of Atlanta in protest of new election reforms signed into law by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R). Critics of the Georgia law, which requires voters to submit identification with absentee ballots along with other provisions that expand early voting, have claimed it will suppress the minority vote and compared it to racist "Jim Crow" laws previously enacted in the segregationist South.

Many false claims were made about the reforms before they became law, which prompted major corporations like Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola to speak out against the bill.

The Daily Wire polled Americans on provisions of Georgia's new election laws (using paraphrased descriptions of the law from news reports) and found that several are actually popular.

A full 78% of respondents, including a majority of self-identified Democrats, MLB fans, non-white Americans, and all age groups support Georgia's voter ID requirements for absentee voting. And 63% of respondents, including 48% of Democrats, support restrictions on providing gifts, including refreshments, to voters near polling stations and waiting in line to vote. Another 67% of respondents, including a majority of Democrats and minorities, support Georgia's new regulations on ballot drop boxes.

According to the poll, support for the Georgia law grew significantly after respondents were informed about what it actually does. At first, 42% of respondents said they supported Georgia's elections laws while 38% said they were opposed. After reading summaries of the law's provisions, 71% of respondents said they were "more supportive" of the election reforms.

Additionally, support for MLB's decision fell after people learned what Georgia's law does.

While at first 55% of Americans said they support MLB's decision to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta, over half — 54% — said they were "less supportive" of the league's decision after becoming informed about the Georgia law.

The poll's results also suggest there is eroding trust in the media.

The poll found 58% of respondents, including a majority of MLB fans, said politicians and some in the media are negatively exaggerating about the Georgia law. And 42% said politicians and reporters were "being fair and accurate" with their criticisms.

Lastly, most Americans said MLB's motives for moving the All-Star Game were driven by "politics and publicity," rather than sincerely held beliefs about the right to vote, as MLB claimed. The poll found 67% of respondents, including nearly half of those who initially supported the league's decision, said the league's motivation was based on "politics and publicity" rather than a "genuine concern for voters in Georgia."