Why voter protection matters, a short thread:

On Election Day in 2008, I worked as a non-partisan election monitor in Washington Heights in NYC. A young woman, T, came to vote with her sister, who had never voted before, and was excited to cast her first vote for Obama.

But the sister's name wasn't showing up, and they were about to leave, pretty devastated to not be permitted to vote after having registered in time. I stopped them, and asked if they had time to go to the courthouse, where they could appear before a judge.

And they did! And they returned later that day, with a judge's order in hand. And she voted! I didn't hear from T again until Election Day in 2012, when she found me and sent this email.

T. is now a lawyer, representing the rights of immigrants in NYC. Voter protection matters. It changes lives.

Stay safe today, and do everything you can to ensure that everyone -- EVERYONE -- who has a right to vote, has the chance to exercise that right.

What you do today, how you act today, what you tweet today, matters. There's a lot more you can effect today as an individual person than you think. Make it count.