This just in: Voter suppression laws are measures taken to weaken democracy. End of Story.

First of all, let’s look at what voter suppression is. It is basically taking steps to make people not vote and is specifically targeted against those that would vote against your party or candidate.

It works because we are lazy. Getting an identification to vote is not super hard for most of us. Getting a ride to the polls is not super hard for most of us. Thus, most of us are not affected by suppression efforts. But for some of us, getting an ID means going to the DVM and waiting hours and then paying money and then waiting on the mail in order to get an ID. Some of us don’t live near polling places and maybe we can’t get a ride.

All of these can be overcome if we just vote by mail. But this too takes an effort. You have to find out how to do it and then you have to actually sign up for it and then you have to cast your vote by mail. All of this is doable…unless something else comes up.

Something always comes up.

To illustrate how easy it is to decide “I have more important things to than jump through several very easy hoops in order to vote,” I’d like to tell you about Organ Donations and the Scandinavian countries.

There are two counties right next to each other way, way up north. In country A, you are automatically an organ donor unless you take a very easy step to not be an organ donor. This is called “opting out”. It could be as easy as a simple phone call. Over 95% of the people in country A don’t take this step and thus nearly everyone is an organ donor.

In country B, you need to “opt in” if you want to be an organ donor. A simple call and you are in. Over 95% of the people in country B are NOT organ donors.

Simple opt-in/opt-out steps decides for people in advance that they will or will not be donors. This seems like an important issue; one that most of us would have opinions about and yet, we are too lazy to make that call or go online and check that little box.

Now, back to voting. I got busy and didn’t register to vote by mail. Now it’s election day and my dog is trying to throw up a tri-tip it stole from the grill an hour ago. Oh well, my vote won’t count much anyway. Next election I will vote for sure.

That is how it works. Reduce polling times and locations where the opposing party is likely to get the most votes and you will change the outcome of the election.

This is a purely Republican tool. Republicans don’t want you to vote unless you are going to vote for them.

This is why The Big Lie regarding Trump having the election stolen is embrace by Republicans. They don’t believe it is true but saying so justifies their efforts to restrict voting. This is the ONLY reason that Republicans keep repeating the obvious Trump lie.

All voter suppression can be overcome by making an effort. Becoming unlazy.

But wait! There’s more!

Republicans are preparing for you to “become unlazy.” They are now passing laws that will allow a state’s Republican legislature to overturn the public vote in that state and instead, cast all of the state’s electoral votes for a Republican. This means that if your state votes for a Democrat, the Republicans can ignore the will of the people entirely.

Currently, Democrats are trying to pass legislation that makes voting free, fair and easy in all states. Republican are claiming that states have rights to ignore the will of the people in their state. This “state’s rights” arguement is identical to that which the South used to succeed from the United States starting the Civil war. It was a state’s right to have slaves just like today, it’s a state’s right to void the elective will of the people in that state if they don’t vote for a Republican.

It is my view that if states don’t want to be part of our democracy, let them go. Financially, they are a drain on the rest of the country anyway. Let Texas and Mississippi and Alabama and Kentucky go their own way. There is no economy there that we need. Residents that don’t want to succeed will be welcomed into other states. In the same way that other states can let their residents leave for the New South if that is what they want.

Of course, this is a bad idea. Still, we seem to have some unreconcilable differences that I am getting a little tired of. You think the earth is flat, that vaccines cause autism, that trickle down economics works, that whites are supreme and that God hates gays? If you think that, great, just don’t let these thoughts of yours impact this life of mine.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim