Letters: Universal mail-in voting works; No solutions from Keller

Universal mail-in voting works

I’m a former Centre Country resident now living in Colorado. To stay in touch, I occasionally read the CDT online.

I was surprised to see Colorado’s universal mail-in voting system mentioned in a letter to the editor.

As to how it works here: it’s fantastic! The people love it and any politician who tried to take it away would be booted out office and, probably, the state.

We apply one time for mail-in ballots. Every registered voter is then sent all ballots. To vote, we return the completed signed ballot by mail, drop box, or polling place. Since 2006, only five cases of fraud led to convictions. Election results have never been questioned.

It works for complicated ballots as well. This fall my ballot had questions for 11 state propositions and numerous local initiatives.

I watched with equal parts amusement and horror at the charges and counter-charges about this first year of expanded mail-in voting in Pennsylvania.

Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State, was inundated last fall for requests for information about our successful and popular voting system. By now, I assume Pennsylvania legislators know how well universal mail-in voting works here. With a record 77% of the eligible voters submitting their ballots, it has been called the “gold standard” in mail-in voting systems.

My home state of Pennsylvania would do well to adopt, improve and promote universal mail-in voting and move into the modern age.

No solutions from Keller

Fred Keller, who represents part of central Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives, recently wrote an op-ed in the Centre Daily Times attacking President Joe Biden’s jobs growth plans. I get that Mr. Keller, in an extreme partisan move, would not even consider new proposals after the new administration has been in office for only two weeks, but as President Biden might say, “come on man.” Just what has Keller done to help boost jobs and help those locally prepare for changes in the economy? Just how has he and his fellow highly partisan Representative G. T. Thompson worked to help those on the family farms and in the towns across Centre County and beyond face the realities of COVID and changes in the global economy? The answer is simple; virtually nothing. Look no further than the recent COVID relief bills put forward, and not just from President Biden but also those put forward in the last GOP administration. These bills focus on unemployment relief for people who have lost their jobs and stimulus to safely reopen businesses and schools and get the economy moving again. Keller and Thompson voted against those bills. Any of us can be critical, but Mr. Keller hasn’t offered serious solutions and his constant opposition and roadblocks to making progress don’t help his constituents.

Commitment to voting

Well, voting is alive and well, believe it or not! I hear the new Pennsylvania state legislature hearings began to review and adjust how I vote in primary and general elections. What happens does not matter. I vote anyway. I will vote should I need to provide four types of identification. I will vote with providing a completed crossword puzzle as may be required. Whatever. It does not matter what the new criteria becomes — I will vote. My vote will not be stopped. Hear me now and believe me later. And to add, going to vote I will never vote for a traitor. However, I will vote for truth each and every time. I am unstoppable to vote in elections.

Kudos to CVIM

Huge, huge, huge kudos to Centre Volunteers In Medicine!

My husband and I were scheduled to receive our first vaccines Saturday at Mount Nittany Middle School. Wow! We were ushered in within minutes of our scheduled time, filled out our forms and received our injections in minutes. We then had to wait 15 minutes to be sure we had no bad reactions. As soon as we left our chairs, someone was there to completely wipe down and sanitize them.

Throughout the whole process, each and every person we encountered was cheerful, upbeat, friendly, courteous and caring.

If all sites operated like this one, we’d get everyone in the country vaccinated in no time!

Well done, CVIM!