Not all consequences are unintended. Sometimes, what you get is exactly what was intended. And sometimes it is possible to argue from the results to the cause.
In other words, decades of Republican GOTV (Get Out the Vote) strategies were designed along the lines of Lady MacBeth's attitude towards that "damned spot" and anyone who thought otherwise was mistaken.
The object, especially after the arrival of universal suffrage in 1971, with the adoption of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, was to thin the herd by any means possible -- but sureptitiously. Since it wouldn't look good to take back what had just recently been given.
Sometimes it is possible to argue from the results to the cause.
There's a reason we have elections every two years. The founders anticipated that some stewards of the public purse would turn out to be untrustworthy or unjust and would have to be removed post haste.
There's a reason Congress has touted longevity in office as a boon. It is -- for the Congress critters. The longer they stay in office, the more power they have to screw new arrivals and take the best fruits for themselves.
But, for incompetents to stay in office, they have to offer bribes. Since a few private corporations are obviously easier to bribe with contracts and legislated privilege than the whole electorate, that's what they do. Then they can count on the corporate leaders to keep the working electorate in line -- or keep them from going to vote at all, if they can.
Time is of the essence in any election. Holding elections on a work day, requiring registration to be carried out in person, restricting voting to daylight hours, etc. -- all serve to facilitate keeping the electorate to a minimum.
And it all worked like a charm until we crossed that bridge into the 21st Century. Then, perhaps because people had gotten used to working around the clock, staying up all night and thinking globally, voter registration surged and the electorate turned out in droves.
And the faux hand-wringing over the low rate of voter participation was exposed for the sham it has always been.
Efforts to decrease registration and reverse voter participation via legislative requirements and administrative restrictions (cutting hourse, polling places, polling equipment) are signs of desperation. "Out, out damned vote," is what Republicans, like so man Lady Macbeths, are muttering under their breath.