Letters: Grateful for Centre County’s election workers; Time to heal

Grateful for Centre County’s election workers

During the recent election process, I was privileged to help out in the Centre County Office of Elections. In that capacity, I was immersed in the workings of the office.

One takeaway for me is that Centre County residents are very fortunate. The office of elections is run and staffed by those with the highest level of integrity, competence and dedication. It was amazing to see the huge amount of work and complexity of tasks performed by a small staff who are determined to serve the voters of Centre County. It was truly impressive.

Along with the elections office staff, our county commissioners all worked diligently to ensure a fair and free election. Mike Pipe especially worked tirelessly to effect a successful and smooth Election Day 2020. His enthusiasm and patience seemed inexhaustible. His exemplary leadership of positive energy, determination and dedication shaped a group of volunteers into a corps who worked generously on behalf of our county and our country.

And at the finish, you can be assured that here in Centre County, there was no shred of voter fraud, and that indeed, our tax dollars were well spent to the service of democracy and good government. I’m impressed and grateful for the up close experience I had with our elections office and related personnel, and thankful for the fine Centre County government we enjoy here.

Time to heal

For the love of our nation, for our democracy, for our national security, for our reputation throughout the world, for the very health of us all, we implore the Republican Party and President Trump to forgo this internecine war against the will of the American people.

Please abandon these false accusations against our free and fair election process.

Joe Biden has won the election. It is high time to put on the big boy pants and move on.

It is time to heal.

Pa. vote challenge doesn’t hold up

Trump is challenging the vote in seven Pennsylvania counties. Trump believes those counties “held voters to a different standard based on how the votes were cast.” Trump castigated the fairness of the voting based on his profound belief that he cannot lose. He has not submitted evidence of wrongdoing. Innuendo, hearsay and louder reiterations of amazement at losing are the support for his claim.

We find Pa. election processes, procedures and results being reviewed in court based on a belief. Please stop before you tell me about the people who have said “whatever” purportedly as evidentiary support; all anecdotes have been dispelled. In court, factual evidence is the only proof acceptable. Since the basis of the suit is the constitutional standard of equal protection, the evidence must be clear and convincing not hearsay or wishful thinking. Any stable genius would be able to determine that thoughts and even prayers do nothing to advance validity in a belief of wrongdoing. In court it is not what I think I know; it is what can I absolutely prove through the evidence submitted.

Trump’s mantra, “count all of the legal votes,” has been done. Trump requests that none of the “illegal” votes be counted. Until proven there were illegal votes counted, Pennsylvania has met that standard, too. It hurts when reality and beliefs do not synchronize as we like, but it doesn’t make reality any less true. As the Stones said, “You can’t always get what you want.”