Letter to the Editor

Editor:
The lady from Mill Hall who responded to and commented on my Letter published here on 2/10/22 should read it again as her response betrays a misunderstanding or a misreading. The the word “shame” was never mentioned. That is her word and an assumption. Also, to respond to her list of topics: I never mentioned voter ID, immigration, “illegals”, welfare, automatic registration, mail-in ballots, nor did I deny the need for strong voting laws.

As for “fraud” in the 2020 election, the Republicans filed over 60 cases in courts all over the country which included their respective reasons and “findings” of voting irregularities and/of “fraud”, all of which were thrown out of court, many by Trump-appointed judges. Why? Because those cases promoted one conspiracy theory after another including: ballots trucked in, Italian satellites changed vote tallies, Korean shiploads of votes on the East Coast, Maduro in Venezuela controlled voting machines, votes “snuck” in during a water leak, etc. There was no real evidence on which to base their cases.

Of course, I support strong voting laws and free/fair elections. But taking the administration of elections from non-partisan, everyday, citizen election boards and officials in every county in the U.S and giving state legislatures the power to change the results of any election they don’t like does not constitute strong election laws. It’s legalized cheating and the Republicans enacting these laws forget that the legislatures in Democratic states will be able to do this same thing and I am not in favor of that on either side.

As for registering illegal voters, no one who is not a citizen of the U.S. may register, vote, or receive welfare benefits. If anyone is willfully registering non-citizens to vote, they are breaking the law. Snopes rates the lady from Mill Hall’s contention that “The For The People Act allows Democrats to register illegal voters” as FALSE. (BTW, if this law did pass, Republicans would also be able to do this.) .”The 2021 bill continuously asserts the requirement that people registering to vote must affirm their citizenship, and it does not change the law that prohibits non-citizens from voting.” – SNOPES. Let’s all work for strong, fair, and effective voting laws and procedures and stop spreading misinformation.

William E. Conti, PhD
Honolulu, HI