If you're reading newspapers in the march up to the Election, you've probably noticed the flood of reports about record turnout at early voting sites.

All total, there are 31 states that allow voters to cast their ballots before Election Day, and at this point, the process has begun in nearly all of them. Perhaps as much as a one-third of the electorate will voter early -- double the rate from 2000 and up more than 10 percent from 2004.

And, according to NBC News, in my places, that turnout is benefiting Democrats:

Through Monday in Las Vegas, for example, early ballots were cast by 31,875 registered Democrats and 13,371 registered Republicans, the Clark County registrar said, while in Ohio, Democratic voters outnumbered Republicans by 2-to-1 on Monday. Democratic advantages were also reported in Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina and New Mexico.

Experts expect that turnout will be especially heavy in Florida, where up to 40 percent of the electorate might try to cast their votes.

That enthusiasm might turn out to be a disaster, and with only one group to blame for the trouble -- Republicans in the legislature:

Saying early voting cost too much money with rules that weren't uniform, Republican legislators led a charge three years ago to set new statewide standards limiting the number of polling sites and their hours of operation.

Those revamped rules trimmed early voting from 12 hours per workday to eight.

You read that correctly.

GOP lawmakers actually changed laws in the state to make it harder for citizens to vote, and they did it because it might create a political advantage for their party.

When we talk about new Democratic majorities changing conversations, this is exactly the kind of thing I point to. Yes, Democrats work to promote quality education and improve health care. Yes, Democrats are investing in new kinds of energy and creating new jobs. But we are also in the business of voter protection. We work to erase barriers to the ballot box.

Republicans don't.