Voter suppression is the go-to strategy of Republicans to maintain minority rule. Sadly, if we are careless about how we talk about it, we contribute to their success.
I was registering voters in my precinct. I talked the guy at the end of my block, an elderly Black man. He explained he could not register because he was a convicted felon. I told him Oregon does not prohibit former felons from voting. He cried.
Not just a few tears. He sobbed, his whole body shaking. That man was convicted of a robbery when he just 19. He lost over 50 years of voting to misinformation, to the prevailing idea that felons cannot vote. So be careful to be specific.
I thought of him while watching @GoodTrouble a show teens/young adults. I don't care, I love it. Callie was registering a voter who thought they could not vote because of a conviction and she explained that California allowed people to vote. I remembered my neighbor and wondered
@GoodTrouble how many other people are out there, thinking they cannot vote because the Jim Crow ban on felon voting is publicized so much (as it should be). We need to be specific and stress most states do not block felon voting 
@GoodTrouble See how diabolical voter suppression is? Voter ID requirements in some states end up discouraging voters in states without Voter ID. When we talk about voter suppression, let's make sure we don't help the problem suppress more votes.
@GoodTrouble If I were not feeling lazy today, I would hunt up a tweet from this voter who was turned away in a state that does not demand Voter ID because the poll worker believed Voter ID was needed.
@GoodTrouble So, we need to talk about voter suppression but keep it specific to avoid creating the impression that everyone is affected.
