Tale of two state votes

Should we vote by mail or in person? Georgia and Iowa gave us some answers last Tuesday following their primaries. In Georgia, the primary election was a nightmare — voting after midnight or the lack of poll workers and/or machines in minority communities, but alas, not in the rich part of town.

Former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill was quoted in Nation magazine: “What the hell is going on in Georgia today? Four hours to vote? In a primary? Machines down, people being turned away, some locations with no machines? This is a three-alarm fire for democracy. Someone should be held accountable.” The chairman of the Fulton County Commission (which represents Atlanta and surrounding communities) said, “Everything that could happen or go wrong has gone wrong so far.”

Then look at Iowa. Iowa set a new record for primary election turnout this month after its secretary of state sent applications for mail-in ballots to all registered voters, said Fortune magazine. More than 520,000 ballots were cast, beating the previous record of 450,000 set in 1994. Mailin ballots are best for older citizens that are more likely to vote or are poll workers who must handle the walk-ins. The assertion by Trump that mail-ins are fraudulent is a bogus argument when looking at the states where mail-ins occur. The figures, which are many, don’t show it.

I would like to hear from Gov. Asa Hutchinson on this issue. The time is running out.

BILL LONON Springdale