Tom Riggins: Let’s talk election laws

Georgia recently passed a voting law reform that has been met with howls of indignation from the left. To listen to them, the law supposedly suppresses black voters, restricts civil rights, unfairly favors one group (really Democrats?), and generally will cause the demise of the nation. In other words, all of the old, tired reasons dredged up any time there is a proposal to change voting laws. That is, unless Democrats are in charge of the changes.

First, let us be clear. Voting in a republic, which we are, is an entitlement, not a right. In a democracy, anyone should be able to vote. By that logic, a newborn should be able to vote if they can hold the pen to mark the ballot. Let we say that again. We are a republic, not a democracy. In order to vote in a republic, certain qualifications must be met.

First is age. Democrats seek constantly to lower the voting age. Why? Because the younger a person is, the more easily they can be influenced. With age comes the maturity of independent thought. Teenagers by nature seek to be part of a group. All you have to do to influence their vote is convince them you are the right group.

Early in our history, in order to vote one of the requirements was to be a property owner. It was presumed that if you owned property, i.e. a house, you were better able to think in a reasoned manner. While we are better educated today, there is still some merit to requirements of reasoned thinking.

The New York Times reported on April 2 that they “…identified 16 key provisions that will limit ballot access, potentially confuse voters…” Seriously? If voters are that easily confused, then they shouldn’t be voting. But, given the state of public education, I am not surprised by that statement.

With that in mind, here is what Georgia’s voting law really requires. It gives the state Election Board more power to intervene if irregularities are found. That would help control local refusal of videoing the counting process, for example. Gee, I wonder why they don’t like that?

It also prohibits handing out snacks or water to voters in line. However, polling places would be allowed to set up self-serve water dispensers. Whatever happened to drinking fountains? The bill actually expands weekend early voting, requiring at least two Saturday and two Sunday voting days. Yet supposedly voters are being denied polling access.

The law changes absentee voting requirements. Voters over 65, disabled people, and military will be able to request an absentee ballot once and will automatically receive one throughout that election cycle. Others will need to request one for each ballot. It does shorten the time frame to request an absentee ballot. The law requires an approved ID in order to request the ballot. It bans sending unsolicited applications by third parties. Sorry, Democrats. It establishes requirements for and placement of secure drop boxes for absentee ballots.

Local officials are required to post and report the total number of ballots cast on Election Day, early voting, and absentee voting by 10 p.m. on election night. Election results must be tabulated by 5 p.m. the day after election, and certified within six days. Scanned ballot images will now be subject to public records disclosure.

How are any of these requirements onerous? It seems that the law is well thought out and practical. There is no provision that I can see that singles out any group, except maybe election officials, or makes it harder for anyone to vote that has historically been so. The only problem I can see is that the law makes it harder to cheat and provides some consequences including prison time for those who do. Sorry again, Democrats.

There is nothing in this law that deserves the public outcry, except that it undoes the “progress” made by Democrats for the 2020 election. There is no motive for any reasoned thinker to object to the law. All of the self-proclaimed fact checkers that say otherwise apparently failed basic reading comprehension in school.

Democrats are engaging in their typical strong arm tactics against corporations to boycott Georgia. Those corporate leaders, by succumbing to pressure, apparently also lack reasoned thought skills. If Major League Baseball, already struggling, wants to get on board, goodbye pro ball. You will deserve it.

Georgia’s law should serve as a model for other states contemplating election reform. That is what scares Democrats the most.