1/ As the Georgia House considers omnibus #election reform legislation today, a few thoughts on this question: what does the term “voter suppression” mean? Seems easy. But is surprisingly hard to define. Let's look at some items from the public record. #electionlaw #gapol #thread
2/ Let's start with what voter suppression is *not*. It is apparently not any attempt to expand the franchise, because a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House rejected attempts to lower the voting age to 16 earlier this year and that was not “suppression.” wsj.com/articles/house…
3/ It is also apparently not state oversight over county election processes. While quotes in yesterday’s NYT implied that state oversight of county election officials is a power grab, nytimes.com/2021/03/24/us/…, public filings in litigation tell a different story.
4/ For example, Fair Fight Action's position in its most recent complaint, filed in December 2020, was that the state was not taking enough control over county election operations. A few quotes: 
5/ In that December 2020 complaint, Fair Fight Action sought to have a court order oversight of all county election processes by state officials.
6/ But when Judge Jones dismissed a significant portion of the Fair Fight case last month, he noted that there was no remedy against the state because the challenged "tactics" were carried out by counties that the state could not control, such as the closing of precincts.
7/ But if that’s not what voter suppression is, then what is it? Maybe we can ask a political science expert in the Fair Fight Action case.
8/ Dr. Daniel Smith testified that he tries to stay away from the term "voter suppression" because it "carries more baggage than utility" and has "become a partisan term."
9/ In spite of this lack of clarity about the definition, charges of "voter suppression" are often reported with little (if any) context about the partisan overlay of the term. National examples include: nytimes.com/2021/03/06/us/… and nytimes.com/2021/03/03/us/…
11/ So what is voter suppression? As @KarlRove argues, it’s apparently dependent on context, given the much-more-restrictive nature of voting laws in many Democratic states that get no coverage or advocacy by the same groups that attack Georgia. wsj.com/articles/blue-…
12/ I'll let you draw the conclusion whether that's a valid definition of voter suppression or not. #end
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