DAVE ROSS

Ross: Voting with both feet

Jul 14, 2021, 5:49 AM | Updated: 9:44 am

voting...

Demonstrators are gathered outside of the Texas State Capitol during a voting rights rally on the first day of the 87th Legislature's special session on July 8, 2021 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)

(Photo by Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)

Democrats seem to be at their wits’ end over what to do about states like Texas changing the voting rules.

They’re outnumbered in the state Legislature; it’s a re-districting year, which could well lock in Republican control, so all the Democrats can do is leave town and deny Republicans the quorum they need to pass laws.

This is very dramatic, but eventually they’ll have to come back, or get dragged back by the Texas Rangers (and maybe go to jail), and after all that, they’ll STILL be in the minority.

So, what has to happen is not for LEGISLATORS to leave the state, but VOTERS.

Now, I don’t know that Texas’ voting law is actually going to suppress the vote. I’ve heard different opinions on that.

But if that’s the way voters feel, then they should consider doing what anyone does when they feel unwelcome: move to a place where they DO feel welcome. Americans move all the time for better jobs, lower taxes, smarter schools – so for people who feel their voices are being silenced, they should move to a state that respects them. And now that many people can work remotely, it’s easier than ever.

In the case of Texas, there’s a state just across the Sabine River – Louisiana – which has bucked the trend in the South and has actually made voting easier. Louisiana EXPANDED the number of early voting days, and to verify your ID you only need the last four digits of your social security number.

So, looking at the 2020 election returns, if 400,000 Texas Democrats just moved to Louisiana – a mere 1.4% of the Texas population – Biden would’ve won the state, and Louisiana could be blue from top to bottom. Texas moves closer to its dream of a one-party state, Democrats get a bigger voice in the House and Senate, and the Texas Rangers can relax.

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