Timothy Noah writes:

An unnamed Democratic congressional aide told The Washington Post this week that the mood in his party is “panic.” The cause of that panic is a raft of legislation in various Republican-controlled states that’s designed to limit voters’ access to the polls. These laws are genuine cause for concern, but their most common component—restrictions on mail-in balloting—will likely harm Republican candidates more than Democratic ones.

It’s counterintuitive that partisan efforts to undermine democratic governance should hinder rather than advance partisan self-interest. The very idea would drive a game theoretician mad. But the Republicans’ drive to rig elections in their favor—which extends back two decades—turns out, hilariously, to be yet another GOP tradition that’s being undermined by the delusions of Donald Trump.

Don’t get me wrong: Many components of these rapidly proliferating state vote-restricting laws, including 22 that have passed in 14 states since the first of the year, are clear-headed partisan efforts to limit the number of Democratic voters. Passing the voting rights bill currently before the Senate, which seeks to protect voters from partisan disenfranchisement (and, more importantly, to eliminate partisan gerrymandering), is a matter of vital importance. [Continue reading…]