Virginia Republicans want to make it harder for you to vote: Why would that be?

Republicans want to make it harder to vote, but they don’t want to admit that that’s the goal, which is understandable, given how underhanded the goal is.

You know, that the thinking behind the goal is, the more people who vote, the less chance we have to win, given how utterly unpopular what we want to do when we have power is with the majority of people.

So, they cloak what they’re doing in, well, for example, early voting is costly for localities.

This is seriously one of the arguments Republicans are throwing out there, hoping it will stick.

A House of Delegates subcommittee has already advanced a bill that would cut early voting from 45 days to 14 days, with the sponsor, Spotsylvania Republican Phil Scott, saying, with a straight face, that the move would help local governments save money.

I like the response from Henrico Democrat Schuyler T. VanValkenburg, who said by way of retort: “If you want less voting, just say so.”

Because, you know, logically, if the concern really is the cost to localities from extended early voting, another approach from the General Assembly could be, I don’t know, an appropriation of state money to cover the additional costs.

The thinking there being, if it costs more money to give people more opportunities to vote, well, that’s the cost of democracy.

Another inane argument here comes courtesy Tara Durant, R-Fredericksburg, who is concerned about the confusion that could result if a candidate were to drop out during the 45-day period.

She seriously said this as a plausible reason to cut early voting.

Because, sure, this happens all the time, as if.

Democrats on the subcommittee asked the Republicans who are pushing for the change for data on early voting, which seems to make sense.

Honestly, if the data were to say, hey, not a lot of folks vote 45 days out, 30 days out, et cetera, but more do the closer we get to the actual Election Day, this would seem to be more of a justification to make the change being pushed by Republicans than anything they’ve offered.

The Republican sponsors, of course, don’t have data, or maybe, they do, and don’t want to share it, because it wouldn’t help their cause.

Which is, helpful reminder, to make it harder for people to vote, not all the other stuff they’re trying to get you to believe.