Republicans across the country — and in Louisiana — continue to attack and change an election system that has performed well over many years. It’s hard to understand why so many in the GOP ranks accept former President Donald Trump’s baseless and unproven claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

Some Republicans in the Louisiana Legislature are even re-introducing election changes that were vetoed by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2021. They apparently believe there are now enough votes to override those vetoes.

The Associated Press reported that Republicans responding to the myth of widespread voter fraud are turning to a new tactic to appease those voters who believe the claims.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, who is sometimes referred to as the next Trump and a potential presidential candidate in 2024, is actually pushing  an election police bill. He justified its need by citing unspecified cases of fraud. Similar legislation has been introduced in Georgia.

The AP said DeSantis has previously praised the state’s 2020 election as smooth and has resisted calls to conduct a review of the results. Arizona did conduct a review and ultimately found no evidence of wrongdoing.

The policy director of a voting access group explained why some voters think having election police is a bad idea. ”Everyone just gets a little more concerned about, am I going to get investigated, am I going to be arrested just because I’m trying to vote or trying to help someone vote?” he said.

There is also something different going on in New Mexico. An audit of the 2020 election results has volunteers from a conspiracy group going door-to-door to canvass voters. More than 60 county residents have contacted state and local officials expressing concerns about interactions they had with the canvassers who are asking intrusive questions.

The chairwoman of a congressional committee investigating the New Mexico voting audit said, “The right to vote is protected by the Constitution and is the cornerstone of our democratic system of government.”

One of the most disturbing events occurred in Texas. The state’s election system threw out mail votes at an abnormally high rate during the nation’s first primary of 2022, rejecting nearly 23,000 ballots outright under tougher voting rules.

Roughly 13 percent of mail ballots returned in the March 1 primary were discarded and uncounted across 187 counties in Texas. Experts say anything above 2 percent is usually cause for attention.

The director of the Election Data and Science Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said, “My first reaction is ‘yikes.’ It says to me that there’s something seriously wrong with the way that the mail ballot policy is being administered.”

Texas’ election was the debut of more restrictive voting rules the GOP raced to put on the books across the U.S. in time for the midterm elections, a push that took particular aim at mail voting that soared in popularity during the pandemic.

At least 17 other states in the coming months will cast ballots under tougher election laws.

OK, back to the Louisiana legislators.

Rep. Les Farnum, R-Sulphur, wants a supplemental annual canvass of registered voters. Edwards vetoed a similar 2021 bill, saying there was already an annual canvass and called it an unfunded mandate on local officials.

Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, wants state central political committees to appoint additional poll watchers. Edwards in his veto message said there was no good reason to further politicize the operation of elections by inserting political parties in the process.

Rep. Blake Miguez, R-Erath, wants to prohibit the use of private funds for election-related expenses by a public official or agency. Edwards’ veto last year was his second of a similar bill. He said the Legislature receives and spends grants and donations, but this bill outlaws it for other public bodies.

Sen. Robert Mills, R-Minden, wants to set up a system for handling absentee ballots different from the current system. Edwards’ veto last year said the bill was intended to provide clarity, but ended up confusing the system

Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, wants to make some absentee voting changes. Edwards’ 2021 veto said it would have required more stringent requirements to vote absentee by mail.

Republicans especially don’t like voting by mail, which is extremely popular with voters everywhere. It actually gets people to vote who might otherwise stay at home on election day.

When and if this attack on election systems that are working well ever ends, is anyone’s guess. However, it’s clearly much ado about nothing.