Walters: Changing Election Rules Alters Outcomes SHARE THIS ARTICLE: Periodically, owners of major league sports teams change game rules and in doing so they inevitably affect the games’ outcomes, purposely or not. Politics are no different. Changing the rules of campaigning, voting and other political procedures affects election results. Dan Walters Opinion We saw an example of that adage this year. Loosening voter registration requirements, allowing or disallowing ballot harvesting and, in some states, shifting from in-person voting to vote-by-mail affected voter turnout, altered the composition of the electorate and thus ultimately had an effect on what or who won or lost.