Jennifer scaife
Executive Director, Correctional Association of New York New York City
Voting by mail boosts participation and trust
With appreciation for the Times Union’s election coverage, I urge increased attention to the need for, and safety of, voting by mail.
In the face of the worst pandemic in a century, we must greatly increase widespread use of absentee ballots. Because of politicized claims that it increases voter fraud, it is essential to underscore that study after study finds voting by mail is safe and secure.
As the Brennan Center points out in the false narrative of vote-by-mail fraud, “Despite this dramatic increase in mail voting over time, fraud rates remain infinitesimally small . ... States have multiple tools to address valid security concerns and protect election integrity when it comes to mail ballots.
And recent technologies and strategies have significantly enhanced the security of mail balloting.” Voting by mail has the overwhelming approval of Americans including a majority in both major political parties. It increases voter participation across all parties, is secure and reduces cost. Falsely asserting otherwise weakens public trust in our democratic process.
President is the reason COVID cases are surging
Our wartime president has lost to the coronavirus pandemic because acknowledging its existence endangers his re-election.
He is ill prepared to battle COVID-19. President Donald Trump has called the virus a hoax despite receiving reports from the intelligence community to the contrary. His administration has lacked the medical equipment and accessories to combat the pathogen.
The distribution of supplies, when available, has been slow and often directionless while Americans have died in hospitals and nursing homes.
Trump has refused to follow the advice of his Coronavirus Task Force, sometimes refuting them in public.
The president has not followed the guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He encouraged Americans not to wear masks or maintain social distancing. The purpose of these recommendations are an effort to mitigate the spread of the disease. Trump has set a bad example for Americans. Many of his supporters follow his defiance of the scientific community. Consequently, many red states have seen an upsurge in coronavirus cases.
When Americans need to be united in an effort to mitigate the pathogen, Trump has politicized the epidemic. He lost the war. Let’s ensure that he loses the election in November. Administration officials suggest that Americans will have to learn to live with the virus. Trump will have to learn to live with his election loss, too.
Neighbors lost the ability to care about each other
What happened to civility in our society? What happened to looking out for one’s neighbor? This 4th of July had me thinking about these issues, particularly because of certain activities taking place all around me, i.e. fireworks and parties.
We are in the middle of a pandemic and yet people seem to think that the virus was taking a holiday. People around me in Poestenkill were having large, packed gatherings. I didn’t see any masks or social distancing.
Then, the fireworks happened, loud fireworks all around our home. My cat was terrorized for two hours and I’m sure many of the other neighborhood animals (not to mention wildlife) were hiding under various beds or bushes.
It occurred to me that these people who are shouting from their rooftops that being mandated to wear a mask is a form of tyranny are similar to, and maybe the same as, the people who callously disrupt a peaceful night because they like to hear loud booms and bangs. Both forget the needs of others. Asking people to don a mask to keep others safe, i.e. the elderly lady you pass in the grocery aisle or the man with diabetes in your church pew, well, too bad for them.
If a neighbor wants to shoot off fireworks for two hours, that is their right as an American, right? Who cares if the neighbors’ pets are terrified? It seems it’s all “my pleasure, my needs, my freedom comes first.” Could people possibly be learning this egregious amount of incivility, disrespect and disregard for the other from the man in the White House?